Scripted Romance
by BitterKiss
Summary: Amy Rose's life has become one that is written out for her by someone else. Her battles and relationships are outlined in ink and her life revolves around the Boom TV show set. But when her heart gets caught between two male hedgehogs, she doesn't have a playbook to rely on. Can she find the confidence to choose between old and new love?
1. Episode 1: Shoddy Craftsmanship

_**A/N**_

_**Firstly I would like to thank my Beta, Nothin'Fancy who helped me so much with the editing of this story! If you want more really good ShadAmy stories, definitely check out hers!**_

_**This story is placed in the Sonic Boom Universe with some extra locations from the Sonic Universe. It takes place after Shadow's first appearance in the show in Season 1, Episode 52. Italics will be used for flashbacks and the character's personal thoughts. Bold + Italics, for the character's personal thoughts within a flashback.**_

_**These are the character's ages:**_

_**Amy:18**_

_**Shadow: body wise, 23, in reality, around 57**_

_**Sonic: 20**_

_**Tails: 16**_

_**Knuckles: 24**_

_**The story is M-rated for minor adult language and sexual themes further on in the chapters. I do not own the show Sonic Boom, nor any of the characters.**_

_**Cover Image belongs to the lovely aymiaymi.**_

_**If you enjoy the story, don't be shy to leave a review! I'll be updating it weekly!**_

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**Episode 1: Shoddy Craftsmanship**

Shadow landed swiftly on his newly designed hover shoes onto the very badly put together shelves, crushing them beneath him. He grunted after the blow he received from his blue rival.

"Hey! We worked all day on that!" The navy hedgehog complained putting both gloved hands on his hips while giving the onyx hedgehog a dirty look.

"You're shoddy craftsmanship brings shame to all hedgehog kind!"

The ebony hedgehog grunted in a low voice with a hint of rasp into it, but his "threat" was quickly received a quiet snicker, which quickly escalated into full blown laughter from the hedgehog before him and soon the rest of the mobians behind the blue blur joined in.

They couldn't help it, the way the powerful hedgehog said the line just made it all too ridiculous for the team to hold it in.

Amy was leaning on her hammer giggling with a gloved hand placed on her muzzle, while her younger two tailed friend was leaning onto his red echidna buddy for support, both clutching their stomachs in fits of laughter.

"Who the hell writes this shit?!" Shadow growled in frustration making most of the snickering stop. His ruby eyes were on fire, and his quills were bristling in fury and he looked ready to kill. But this didn't frighten a certain blue blur.

"Oh c'mon, Shads, it's pretty funny!" Sonic chuckled wiping a tear out of his eye.

"It's absolutely ridiculous!" He grunted crossing his arms and closing his eyes stubbornly.

Shadow had enough of this. All of this was so foolish. The way this 'comedic' show represented him was downright mocking. He regretted ever giving into the recruiting team for the show, having seen their previous episodes, he should've known something this disrespectful was going to happen.

"It's okay, Shadow," a gentle female voice reached towards him as the pink hedgehog walked next to him "it's not the best script but it's a comedy, it's supposed to be funny and ridiculous" she put a small gloved hand covered in bandages on his shoulder. The gesture made his fur stand up ever so slightly as he opened one eye to glance at the pink hedgehog next to him.

Normally, Shadow's reaction would have been more primal and he would've quickly tensed up and pushed the girl's hand away. However he'd grown a little closer to Amy Rose over the past 2 years, as their free time had greatly increased after the disappearance of a certain pot bellied scientist.

"Rose,"

The pink female blinked at him with a curious look, her hand still gently resting on his shoulder.

"Yes, Shadow?"

"This," he started, shrugging her hand from his shoulder and swiping an angry hand around the studio set around them, "is bullshit."

His voice was calm and monotone, but his body language and expression said otherwise. His quills had bristled again and he stared at her with angry, and narrowed eyes. She placed her hand on his shoulder and with a concerned look, she tried again,

"But, Shad -"

"They've completely, utterly demolished, and _spat_ on the Ultimate Life Form!" He gritted his teeth, sharp canines showing and his eyes became a deeper shade of crimson. At that point Amy let her hand slide off his shoulder gazing at the taller hedgehog in a mixture of confusion and light annoyance.

"Here we go again..." the blue blur rolled his eyes speaking in a low voice while putting his hands behind his quills nonchalantly as he turned and walked towards the table ladened with snacks for the TV Crew, his emerald eyes stuck on the pile of chili dogs there by his request.

"What kind of a low life would think to write up such a demeaning tasteless joke for the most powerful character to say?!" Shadow at this point had started pacing back and forth in frustration, throwing his hands around. Tails and Knuckles had glanced at each other nervously and started to slowly back away from the enraged ebony hedgehog. Amy, on the other hand, was standing near him, her arms held outwards toward him, and her voice continued to reason with him in gentle tones.

"Shadow, it's just comedy, we've had worse jokes than this before"

Shadow suddenly stopped pacing and turned to the pink female with his eyes narrowed and locked onto her emerald ones. His anger was burning her, but she held her ground with the knowledge that he wasn't angry with her, but rather the writers of the show. In fact she wondered why no one from the crew was intervening, but she supposed the ex-antihero was too intimidating.

"These clowns," He growled, his hand whipping behind him to point at Sonic and crew, but his eyes remained locked on her, "might be used to the stupid shallow jokes, but I'm not kissing anyone's ass to be here, in fact I was practically begged to show up here!"

His stature shifted to an arrogantly stance, he crossed both arms under his furry patch of chest hair making a 'hmpt' grunt. They could hear a protesting 'hey!' from the background from what sounded like it was Tails' voice but once Shadow half-lid opened his eyes and turned his gaze to the slim pink hedgehog before him, a bead of sweat trickled down his forehead, at her expression. He suddenly felt a small prick of regret began to form in his stomach as he could practically see the flames of rage flowing around her body. Normally, Shadow was not the one to get rattled, but in the past he had a couple of face to face meetings with a large piko piko hammer, she was notorious for pulling it out very quickly when she got angry. He always tried his best to avoid being on the wrong end of the hammer, however it looked like he was on the fast track to the smashing station.

"These clowns...?! So I'm a clown to you, now am I?!"

The pink girl was staring into his deep red pools with fury so powerful it immediately doused the fire in his chest. Her eyes, which had just a few minutes ago been full of gentle concern, were now brimming with unrelenting anger. _I fucked up..._

"No! I...I didn't say that _you're_ a clown, Rose!"

His eyes were slightly wide and his hands quickly uncrossed. His right hand quickly reached and grasped her left one. _Damn it... She's doing it again... She's turning my words against me._

He was used to this tactic of hers, this wasn't the first time they'd gotten into an argument. In fact, it was almost humorous that he now knew all her little flaws. All the little things she did out of habit, and he felt a sudden panicked feeling at the realization. Had he really gotten that close to her? Close enough that he could read her, and predict her behavior? He didn't even have that type of closeness with Rouge. How had it gotten to this point? The only answer he could come up with was the months following the last battle with the real Dr. Eggman. Sonic and his friends had been injured extensively, and was placed in Team Dark's headquarters while they recovered. All because Rouge had volunteered her services to nurse them to health… which meant he'd had to as well…

In fact, he could think of the first time he had been forced to 'nurse,' the group, and how a certain fisty pink hedgehog had reacted.

"_Rose?"_

_He'd entered the room as quietly as possible as to not wake her, and yet he could tell that she wasn't sleeping deeply. Her left eye was opening groggily at the small swishes of noise his feet made on the carpet, and her right was shut from swelling and a nasty purple bruise. He held back a flinch in sympathy, it still shocked him to see the state she was in. He swallowed, and slowly approached her bed, softly speaking in a husky voice,_

"_I need to change your bandages."_

_Suddenly her good eye opened widely and a small blush formed on her muzzle. The jade iris snapped in his direction, and her muzzle opened, while she flinched in pain,_

"_Wha - Why… where's Rouge?!"_

_Shadow felt hesitant with the situation. He could definitely understand where the girl was coming from. Only Rouge had been changing her bandages and taking care of her wounds after the doctor patched her up. And even the doctor had been a warm hearted female bandicoot. So, she must've been feeling embarrassed, considering the worst injury was on her torso… under her shirt. __**Shit,**_ _the thought brought a little heat to his cheeks, and he set his mouth into a stern line to try and hid his own nervousness. _

"_She's out on a job, and she's the one that asked me to help you."_

_He lifted the right corner of his mouth at a weak attempt of a reassuring smile, but it felt unnatural and he quickly abandoned it for a light eye roll. He took the final couple steps to the side of the bed and sat down. He carefully placed the metal plate full of bandages and medicine on his lap._

"_Can't you call the doctor?" The girl frowned trying to hide her flustered muzzle with the sheets._

"_Why would I bother the doctor for a mere bandage change, when I can do it myself?" Shadow lifted an eyebrow at her and cocked his head to the side frowning._

"_Well...I can wait for Rouge to come back then."_

_She averted her gaze stubbornly to the side. He realized that he was making her uncomfortable and he couldn't help but feel a small spike amusement at her resistance. Why was she acting this way? Sure, Amy was typically stubborn but she was always the one to worry about someone's health. Yet when it came to her own, she was neglecting it?_

"_She won't be back any time soon." He stated firmly, watching as her one eye peeked out from the rim of the sheet._

"_That's okay, I prefer waiting for her."_

"_Rose…" Damn, he was getting frustrated with her. He put a hand on his forehead, rubbing it in way to try to keep his composure. "Rouge isn't going to come back for a week. So If you don't want an infection that could lead to necrosis, I suggest you start taking your shirt off."_

_Oh that didn't sound quite right… somehow he had a sickening feeling that he had said something very wrong._

_Well the slap that followed after, confirmed his suspicions. _

"_SHADOW YOU PERVERT!"_

_Shadow didn't know whether his cheek or his ears hurt more. Her shrieking voice was bouncing around in his head, and he swore she had just given him a migraine. He put a hand on his cheek rubbing it lightly with a groan. His frustration had reached its boiling point, and he stood while bandages and medicines showered to the floor._

"_You know damn well what I meant to sa - Amy no! Put down the hammer!" His eyes widened as the pink hedgehog poofed out her huge piko piko hammer. "You're going to hurt yourself!" he growled as the female swung across with her hammer. Shadow was lucky her reflexes were slower than usual, otherwise he probably wouldn't have the time to duck and avoid the injured hedgehog's attacks. _

"_You implied it, you pervert!" Amy growled in frustration when she couldn't nail him, and in pain from the movement. _

"_Rose, that's enough!" At her next swing, Shadow dodged the piko piko hammer with his gloved hand and yanked it from her grasp, ever so lightly, trying not to injure her even more. The girl yelped in pain and grabbed her side, where her wound was._

_Shadow grunted furrowing his eyebrows and put her hammer away from her reach. At this the pink hedgehog quickly pulled the covers over herself. Her bullheadedness was getting on his nerves._

_**No more mister nice hedgehog.**_

_The ebony male pulled the covers away and grabbed both of her wrists lifting them above her head, pinning them against the pillow. At that Amy gasped and her blush grew darker._

"_Shad-OW!"_

_Her emerald eyes went wide in surprise and pain as he unfolded her body and sat on her legs so she wouldn't move around. He grunted a light "Excuse me," under his breath and proceeded to lift her shirt up in order to expose her bloodied bandages. Another gasp escaped her lips and her whole face went red. He could see her ramping herself up to protest and lapse into full rage mode again, but Shadow cut her off._

"_The more you struggle, the more time your wound will take to heal. Now stop squirming around and let me change your bandages." He stared at her eyes, his voice and gaze stern as ever. Amy gulped and couldn't help not to stare back. She glared at first, but finally he felt her body beneath him relax and a small sigh escaped her chapped lips. __**At least she's smart enough to realize her behavior is getting her nowhere**__._

"_Fine…" Amy looked down and lowered her ears._

_Shadow stared at her for a moment and then released his grip on her wrists and gently sat down next to her to start treating her wound._

"HELLO?! Mobius to Shadow?!" That shrill tone brought him back from his ponderings, and his attention was once again dragged to the here and now. Amy no longer had visible signs of her wounds, and she had all her energy back. And with it came the attitude, and the strength to back it up. When he said nothing, she stomped her foot and went on tiptoes to get right in his face, her right hand poking painfully into the fluffy fur on his chest.

"You implied it!" This time it was her turn to narrow her emerald eyes dangerously.

Shadow growled softly under his breath and without thinking, grabbed the accusing hand, and pulled her to his body. Their torsos were touching now, and their combined anger was spilling forth like demented spirits. Everyone who was watching the scene, immediately did the best they could to melt into the scenery, unwilling to get in the middle of their spat. All except a blue hedgehog, who had paused in his chili dog consumption to turn a narrowed glare in their direction. The closeness of the two was getting a little 'too close' for his comfort.

"You know damn well I didn't imply it, now stop doing this," he growled lowly into her sensitive ear which earned him a soft shiver from the pink female.

Amy almost lost her composure then and there. It was infuriating, this knuckleheaded hedgehog that held her was causing her to feel conflicting emotions. On one hand, she knew she was being slightly ridiculous with her anger, but on the other she couldn't help but feel drawn into his web of emotion. She didn't know why, but seeing him upset, had put her on edge, and then when he had insulted them and their work? Well she had just given into the intoxicating feeling that was swirling around him. And now he was holding her close to his firm body, causing the feminine instincts within her to spark with electricity against her will.

_No_. She wasn't like the other females she'd seen melting in the background whenever this ebony hedgehog glanced with a glare in their direction. Amy Rose wasn't one to fall so easily for the smooth tactics (whether intentional or not) that the dark, brooding male emanated. She squared up, pushing herself closer to him, a menacing growl rumbling from her throat.

This caused Sonic to lift a brow at both hedgehogs. If he wasn't feeling uncomfortable before, their closeness now made him feel utterly uneasy. He knew that Shadow and Amy had gotten closer during the years, hell he'd even seen them hang out a couple of times, just the two of them, but every time he'd witnessed it, he felt the same way as now. He felt nasty knots form in his stomach and an unpleasant pressure in his chest. It was a weird feeling that he tried to bury anytime it surfaced.

"What the hell are those two talking about?" The blue hedgehog mumbled to himself there was a hint of worry and irritation in his voice but he went unnoticed.

"Will you stop whining now?"

She whispered, her breath hot on his face, keeping her gaze as firm as she could onto his. He could feel himself starting to give in - but he wouldn't go down without a fight. His lips peeled back on clenched fangs, but before Shadow could protest, their 'private' chit chat was quickly interrupted by a raspy, bored sounding male voice.

"As much as I ship you two, we have a scene to finish, and the sooner we do, the sooner we all go home."

Eggman, or rather, Ivo, Eggman's body double spoke up putting a single index finger in the air in a tsking manner. His words earned him a sharp glare from the blue hero to which the doctor returned with a confused look.

Shadow averted his gaze onto the slimmer doctor and grunted again letting Amy's hand go. Meanwhile the female rubbed her forearm looking to the other side, trying to cover up the light pink blush that formed from all that contact.

"Hmpt, fine. But I am doing only one take and no more for the whole scene. If anything else happens, I'm out." The hedgehog crossed his gloved hands again and closed his eyes in annoyance.

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"Alright! Let's wrap it up! Great job everyone!" The male squirrel spoke through his megafone as all of the cast started gathering the equipment.

"Man, today was exhausting." The red echidna cracked his neck and stretched his body.

"What's wrong Knuckles, getting out of shape?" Sonic grinned teasingly nudging his buff friend with an elbow on his side.

"I certainly am not, but, changing the subject, I couldn't help but notice how you stared at Amy and Shadow while they were flirting back there." Knuckles smirked rubbing his side as he was rewarded with an eye roll from his friend.

"They weren't flirting, they were arguing. And I did not stare, I was just bored and was watching the show." The blue blur narrowed his eyes into a glare. At this point Knuckles smirked and decided to take the chance to tease his stubborn friend.

"Oh c'mon Sonic," his voice took on an almost sing song note, and his muzzle split into a wicked smirk, "everyone knows that Shadow and Amy have a '_thing.'_"

Sonic's quills bristled up from the thought and he rolled his eyes in irritation.

"No, they _don't_, the only one that Amy has a 'thing' for is _me_." He smirked confidently closing his eyes, using both thumbs to point at his chest, the indisputable fact reassuring himself.

"Oh?" A voice swooned, "I could've sworn that Shadow was sweeping Amy off her feet with those charming, dark, _mysterious_ eyes of his."

Both Sonic and Knuckles gave Eggman a weird look as he joined in their conversation uninvited.

"Hey, didn't you ship me and Amy, Egghead?" The navy hedgehog pushed the older man out of his personal space giving him a dirty look.

"Ha! That's the Eggman in the script. I, personally, think differently. You and her are the good guys; 'good girl' and her personal hero is so old-school, so _cliche_. Shadow on the other hand, he's edgy, dark, mysterious, not to mention _sooo_ handsome. He's the bad boy with a good heart and she's the good girl who steers him in the right direction. Opposites attract Sonic, their ship is way cooler than yours."

Sonic stared at the doctor with a mixture of confusion and irritation. Could Amy really fall for a bad boy over the hero who saved her life countless times and who she loved for so many years? _Nah. Never gonna happen. _The hedgehog shook his head.

"Hey, Shadow… um, you did great out there." Her voice came a few feet from where the three of them were standing, and they turned to observe the two hedgehogs standing awkwardly next to each other.

"Thank you, Rose." The ebony hedgehog said, looking at her with anxious eyes, "Hey about earlier -"

Amy, who had taken to unbinding the sports tape wrapped tightly around her arms to avoid looking at him, quickly looked up and waved her arms. Her face was flushed, and her head was shaking,

"No, no! I'm sorry… I overreacted… besides, this show can definitely get under your skin, especially if you're not used to it."

Shadow chuckled awkwardly, and he stepped closer to her as some crew tried to pass behind him with large props. Amy blushed slightly but didn't step away.

"Hey, um, wanna grab lunch with us? Me, Sonic, Knuckles and Tails are heading over to Cream's bakery."

"I'll pass, I have some work to do." He shook his head but couldn't help but notice the slight disappointment in her emerald eyes. Seeing this made him feel tense, he didn't like disappointing her. Reluctantly, he sighed and muttered, "But I'm free tonight after 10."

This made Amy's smile return quickly, even brighter than before. It was almost unnoticeable, but Sonic could see just the lightest of pink appear in the corner of Shadow's cheek under his fur. He didn't change his expression though, so no one else seemed to notice.

"10:30pm, at the lake side?"

"It's a date." Shadow smirked at her which made her giggle. She nodded to him and with a wave she joined her friends.

Shadow had gotten used to these "dates". He would hang out with Amy, take long relaxing strolls with her, especially during night time because of their busy schedules, with Amy working on the show and him doing some jobs for G.U.N. They weren't really dates, most of the time they just hung out and talked, but Amy started calling them that from the start as a way to tease him. And from then on, the word just stuck around. Deep inside of him, he enjoyed calling their hangouts dates, it made the faker cringe. He smirked smugly at the thought.

As he watched her join her friends, and Sonic wrap an arm protectively around her shoulder when they started walking away, he couldn't help but feel a little irritated, as the 'hero' shot the ebony hedgehog a glare. The way that blue ass walked around like he owned the world made his skin crawl. _Sonic _was credited with the defeat of Eggman, he was paraded around like a god, when in reality, he hadn't been able to finish the job. In fact, it had been Shadow who had 'saved' the day, had come in and rescued the blue blur and his pathetic team.

Their last battle had been on one of the doctor's spaceships, where he and Sonic both fought against him, had almost ended tragically for them. This time Robotnik had gone too far. It was one thing to kidnap Sonic's friends, but on that ship, he'd actually endangered their lives. He'd been _very_ close to killing Sonic, but this wasn't the odd part, it was normal for the man to attack the hero with bloodlust. What had been so different this time, was that he had severely injured the rest of Sonic's crew, leaving them laying in puddles of their own blood.

Shadow had joined the fight just in time, and managed to teleport the fatally injured Tails, Amy and Knuckles to Team Dark's headquarters where Rouge and Omega provided them with the first aid they'd needed. Yes, he could've teleported them to a hospital but that would take too much time and explanation. He had to act quick, and quite frankly, he trusted his teammates more than the doctors. Rouge had good medical experience when it came to patch someone up during a fight, and would be able to care for them until a medical professional came in and did the heavy duty.

It took a lot of power to transport each of them one by one, as quickly as he could, but he was lucky he had a couple of emeralds within his grasp. After that, both hedgehogs teamed up once again against Eggman, and ultimately the blow that they delivered to his machine made it malfunction and explode leaving no trace of the doctor.

Shadow had to admit it, he hadn't been there to help the faker and his team. His only interest had been to obtain the two remaining emeralds within his rival's grasp. And yet when the time came, he found it extremely difficult to turn his back on the injured fighters. The sight before him triggered something within. Especially when his eyes landed on the pink hedgehog laying in a crimson puddle on the ground, clenching her stomach, face seized in agony and pain. The sight had brought forth images of a blonde human girl, a blossom of red bursting from the holes in her chest. Her blue eyes full of salty water… his friend, his family, murdered before his very eyes.

He found his body acting before his mind. Without thinking, he appeared next to the girl and gently scooped her up from the bloody floor. The movement caused the pink hedgehog to shriek in pain and twist her body into a fetal position in his hands. Shadow knew he had to act quickly while the evil doctor was preoccupied with his blue rival. In mere seconds he disappeared and reappeared in flashes of a yellow-white hue of light.

For a split second, Sonic gazed at his friend's direction noticing how they disappeared one by one. His eyes went wide but his attention was quickly redirected to his enemy once he received a heavy blow from a metal clawed arm. His body flew back towards the wall behind him. The hedgehog shut his jade eyes tightly expecting the blow of the wall to his spine to come until he felt something grasping his hand in mid flight, yanking him forward.

Once the blue blur opened his eyes, he had blinked a couple of times in confusion and looked to his side.

"_Shadow…?"_

"_Hmpt, don't slack off, Faker."_

Sonic ignored the jab, instead his peridot eyes glanced around frantically,

"_My...my friends."_

Realisation finally hit Sonic. He looked down to see Shadow gripping a red emerald in his hand, and Shadow had seen a ripple of relief flow through his quills. He remembered thinking that the so-called 'hero' had looked so weak and pathetic. He released Sonic's arm roughly, and turned to the doctor, his muzzle twisted in a growl.

"_They're safe...Now let's finish this."_

Shadow found himself wondering what would've happened if he hadn't been there to interfere. Maybe Sonic would've survived and possibly beat Eggman, but what about the others? He knew how badly injured Amy was. He really didn't bother to check on Tails or Knuckles, but he knew that their wounds weren't as serious by the fact that they both healed faster than Amy. So there was a possibility that they could've survived. A slim one. But Amy? She would've died. And that Faker couldn't do anything to protect her.

Shadow clenched his jaw and his fists at the thought as he was gliding through the streets of the city near the island where they shot the _Sonic Boom_ episodes.

_He's not strong enough to protect her. He doesn't deserve her._

With that thought the dark hedgehog gilded with his hover skates towards G.U.N.'s main headquarters.


	2. Episode 2: The 'Not a Date' Date

**A/N**

**Hello my dear readers! Whew! This chapter is a bit longer, I truly hope you enjoy it! **

**Once again I want to thank my lovely incredible Beta, Nothin'Fancy, she helps me out so much with this story! Give her stories some love, she is the one who inspired and encouraged me to start writing again!**

**I will keep posting the updates every Saturday or Sunday since the chapters are lengthy and we also need time to edit them. So stay tuned!**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and don't be shy to reaview if you like how the story is going.**

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**Episode 2: The **'**Not a Date'** **Date**

Knuckles, Sonic, Tails and Amy were still sitting on the outdoor patio of _Chao Garden Bakery_, when the sun began to paint red and orange rays across the world as it laid down to rest. The owner of the bakery (Cream the Rabbit), came out with a fresh batch of lemonade, and she smiled warmly at their chatter while she refilled their glasses. However, she didn't stay for long, she had about 300 cupcakes to prepare for a wedding the next day, and the batter was calling her name.

Knuckles was currently finishing a story about a disaster date he had last week, carefully avoiding mentioning his date's name. He probably would have been interrogated by his friends, if it weren't for the fact that they were being distracted by his entertaining experience.

"And, on top of it all, I was so nervous, I accidently spilled my drink all over her shirt."

Knuckles scratched his head looking away in embarrassment earning a giggle from Amy and full blown laughs from Tails and Sonic. The atmosphere around the group was light and friendly, but as they quieted their chuckles, and wiped their eyes of tears, Sonic's attention shifted to the grinning pink female across from him. He felt an irritating feeling in his head, like that of an itch he couldn't scratch, and it had started when he'd witnessed her chatting it up with Shadow earlier. Sneering, he took a sip of his drink, and lifted a brow as he said,

"Speaking of dates…"

Sonic turned his gaze towards the pink hedgehog, his expression one that no one could read. Amy raised a brow at the blue hero, a sugar cookie halfway to her mouth. In fact everyone around the table had stiffened at the change of tone. _Sonic_ wanting to talk about _dates?_ It was an oddly uncharacteristic thing for him to say. Amy gulped, and her hand slowly placed the cookie back onto the plate in front of her, as though she would scare him off with sudden movements. He was staring at her with unwavering emerald eyes, and she couldn't help the small feeling of excitement inside her… a small voice in the back of her head whispered, _it's happening, Sonic is going to ask me on a real -_

"Heard you have a date with the Prince of Doom."

The male hedgehog's gaze didn't flinch or turn from her face, but there was a dark amusement glinting in his eyes as he said the words. His head was leaning on the palm of his hand, and the smirk on his face was not a friendly one.

The expression and charged words immediately changed the mood of the group; Knuckles shifted his gaze toward the female fighter, anticipation for her answer emanating off of him in waves. Tails on the other hand felt a little awkward with the subject, and he felt he had enough of it after Knuckles' not so PG 13 story. Besides, he was smart enough to realize this conversation was not going to end well, and he had no desire to be apart of the aftermath, so he quickly made an excuse about wanting to help the young rabbit with her cupcakes and quickly removed himself from the table.

Amy didn't look up at the fox's retreat, but she wanted desperately to join him. She felt like she'd been caught with her hand in the cookie jar, and she didn't understand the feeling. Why was she feeling guilty about hanging out with Shadow? There was nothing wrong with meeting a friend, just take a look at what she was doing now. Maybe it was the fact that her crush was asking. Yes… that must be it…

"It's not a real date, we just… hang out together occasionally." Amy laughed shaking her head as she fiddled around with the straw in her lemonade.

"Oh, really? You and Shadow have been hanging out pretty often lately." The red echidna remarked, the scene before him was interesting, and he couldn't help but tease the girl. She was like a little sister to him, and seeing her squirm was the equivalent of brother pulling his sister's pigtails. The remark, however, made the blue hedgehog next to him, tighten his jaw.

Sonic didn't like how close Shadow and Amy had gotten over the years... _Yes_, Shadow had saved her two years ago, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't turn on them at any given moment. He didn't trust that gloomy hedgehog. Besides, it was only _one_ time, Sonic had lost count of how many rescues he had performed for Amy, and he resented the idea that someone else was a hero in her eyes.

"So what? Shadow and I have become good friends and we enjoy spending time together. He's intelligent and can hold a real conversation with me, it's refreshing to sharpen iron with him so to speak. What's so wrong with that?" Her attitude was getting more and more agitated with every word that came out of her mouth. The change in her demeanor didn't go unnoticed by the males in front of her, and Sonic felt his body tensing.

"Well, it didn't really seem like you were only friends the way both of you acted on the set. And we heard him say that it _is_ a date. Are you just dating whatever guy gives you the smallest bit of attention?"

This time it was Sonic who spoke up. He wasn't wearing his signature grin or any smugness. His expression was actually very stern and serious. There was also a strong hint of irritation in his voice.

This caught Amy slightly off guard. She never saw Sonic act this way. He rarely acted serious outside of dangerous battles, especially towards her. Why was he acting this way, and why did he demand to know so much? The underlying accusation in his tone made her quills stand on edge, and she responded with a cold tone to match his own voice.

"It's kind of like an inside joke for us, it's how we refer to out hangouts, Sonic. What's up with you? Why do you care all of a sudden? You don't have a right to tell me who and who not to hang out with. You've _never_ given a shit about it before now, so don't even try."

The pink hedgehog crossed her arms beneath her chest and she glared at him with narrowed brows. This type of behavior was not typical for her blue hero. She could almost sense a hint of jealousy in his voice, but that would be impossible. In fact, the only reason she could think of that he was getting pissed, was because of the _person_ she was choosing to spend her time with. It was no secret that the two male hedgehogs hated each other, and she didn't really care to be stuck between the two rivals, like some toy they wouldn't share.

The blue hedgehog frowned, his jade eyes narrowing into a glare of his own. Now he felt attacked. His gloved hands curled into fists and he felt nasty knots of anger start to spread all over his body. He was about to say something that he might've regretted deeply after, but thankfully, Knuckles cut him off before he could speak.

"Oh c'mon Amy, we saw the way you were blushing and swooning, getting as close as you could to Mr. Gloom and Doom. Admit it, it's _totally_ a date, there's nothing wrong with it, why are you protesting so much?."

The red echidna grinned, his tone was teasing, but light, as he tried to lighten the mood with a joke. But it had the opposite effect. Amy's mouth flew open and her glare turned to him, but instead of a smart remark towards him, she was instead assaulted with flashes of her interactions with Shadow. The memory of the earlier scene made a blush creep onto her muzzle once again and embarrassment made her groan in a mixture of annoyance and anger.

"You guys are acting like jerks! Shadow and I are just friends! Nothing more!"

Amy stood up from her chair and reached in her pockets, pulling out a couple of bucks for her order, she slammed them onto the table.

"If you'll excuse me, I have a '_date'_ to get ready for." She quoted the word with her fingers, and she glared at her friends, particularly at Sonic, who crossed his arms and turned his head to the side dismissively. Amy huffed and turned around to take her leave.

Sonic turned back to her direction and watched her leave. His frown deepened as he stared. She'd gotten so angry and defensive at him all of a sudden and all he'd done was ask a simple question... Or rather, he had confronted her, _interrogated_, like he was a father catching his daughter coming home late. He felt his anger subdue, and instead it was replaced by a dreading feeling of regret. He'd acted too harshly towards her. Maybe that's why she acted so defensively. Thinking back, he must've even sounded like he was attacking her. The thought made his stomach twist.

_I should apologize to her later…_

"Hey, what was that all about?"

The echidna's voice snapped Sonic out of his deep thoughts.

"What was what?" The hedgehog stared at him with a confused look, but deep down, he knew exactly what Knuckles was referring to.

"You know... you acting so..._Shadow_-like?"

"What?!" Sonic's voice squeaked slightly, causing the large echidna to raise a brow. Sonic quickly cleared his throat before continuing, "I don't act like that grumpy hog!" Sonic crossed his arms and closed his eyes stubbornly, his eyebrows furrowing downwards. Knuckles rolled his eyes, pour some black paint on the hero, and he would look exactly like his body double.

"Why were you so riled up from what Amy said? You were practically ready to spit venom at her."

"Knux, buddy, you must be imagining things again. Little bit of Boom Knuckles leaking into that big head of yours?" He shook his head and leaned back in his seat.

"Yeah, sure, whatever you say. If it helps you sleep at night." Knuckles rolled his eyes at Sonic's denial.

"I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about."

At this point, Knuckles decided to drop it. He knew how stubborn the blue blur could be, especially when it had to do with his feelings about a certain pink hedgie. Sonic had a talent of playing dunce whenever he wanted to. So there was no use to push the subject, as it would probably result in him getting a headache, or his friend dashing away from his problems. Like he did pretty much every time he was confronted with something.

"Mr. Knuckles! Mr. Sonic! Would you please come taste test these cupcakes for me?" The gentle voice of Cream cut through the tension and immediately both males stood and dashed to the shop. Neither one would reject a free dessert, especially one made by the small rabbit. But just before they entered the door, Sonic took one last look out to the street where Amy had disappeared down. He shook his head of his worry, _it's fine. It's like she said… they're just friends. Nothing I need to worry about._

Another yell from within drew him from his thoughts, and he dashed inside without another thought.

* * *

Amy slammed the door to her apartment in station square. She heard the trinkets on a display case near the door clink together. She kicked her sneakers off in a fury, enjoying the thump they made against her wall. Her apartment was on the more luxurious side, SEGA studios paid her nicely for the show. The pink hedgehog glanced at the cream coloured wall clock. It was already 8pm. Suddenly all the anger within her calmed. She was going to see Shadow soon. He wouldn't pester her, he wouldn't confuse her with mixed signals and emotional terrorism.

"Good, I have about an hour and a half to get ready."

She stripped herself out of her Boom dress and threw it in the washing machine. Then she worked on the remaining sports tape on her limbs, and tossed them in the trash. She knelt down in front of the machine and pushed a couple of buttons to set the cycle. Once she was pleased with the chosen program, she pushed the big 'Start' button and the washing machine clicked and started its cycle. She smiled contently, humming a little tune to herself as she stood up and walked over to her bathroom. Removing the last pieces of clothing, which were her white laced undies and bralette, she threw them in the laundry basket and stepped into the shower.

After a nice long and relaxing shower, the female hedgehog exited her steamy bathroom with a fluffy white robe wrapped around her body and a towel wrapped around her quills. She walked over to her bedroom and sat on her bed which was in front of her large wooden closet. As she opened the doors, her eyes skimmed through the clothing inside it. Since it was the brink of summer, Amy decided to put on something light.

She reached into the hangers and pulled out a short white dress with a lace texture with spaghetti straps. The lace covered the entire garment in flowers only noticeable up close, and the collar was a sweetheart cut. Amy smiled at her choice and after taking out a fresh pair of undies, she closed her closet. Humming once more, she gently toweled her quills dry and let the dress fall onto her shoulders. The dress hugged her upper body tightly and the skirt flowed out like a flower blossom, reaching just an inch over her knees.

The girl looked over to her mirror and smiled at her reflection. She pulled out a pair of suede beige boots that had brown chunky high heels. It'd been a while since she had worn heels. She had gotten so used to the comfy sneakers but luckily for her, the boots were also very comfortable, and the thick heel provided her good support.

However, as she finished tying the last lace on her boot, she froze. _What am I doing?_ She realized quite suddenly that she was priming herself up like highschool girl in love. This made her shoot up into a stand, and the hum died on her lips. _No, no… I'm not doing this because of Shadow… I always like to look nice. I'm letting what the boys said earlier get to me…_ She shook her head, and turned to the closet once more, pulling out a dark brown, long sleeved cardigan. She pulled her arms through it, and turned once more to the mirror.

She let out a sigh of relief at the effectiveness of the sweater. It was made of thick wool, and helped bulk her figure out slightly, and covered her bare shoulders. She still looked cute, but now it wasn't too cute to give any wrong assumptions. Once she was satisfied, she glanced back at the clock.

9:07 pm.

Amy smiled and went to her vanity to fix her quills. After blow drying, she brushed them and styled them into their right place. The girl felt lucky that her quills were manageable. Yes the brushing was a pain in the ass, but at least her quills sat straight down on their own unlike a certain hedgehog she knew. She chuckled at the thought. The pink hedgehog wondered if Shadow's quills were styled to sit up like that or was it something natural. Knowing him, it was probably just the way they sat. But the thought of Shadow, grunting in annoyance and trying to get his quills to curl up in the right angle, glaring into the mirror of his bathroom and using an unhealthy amount of gel, made her giggle.

She took out her black mascara and carefully put it on her long lashes. Once she was content with her appearance, Amy checked herself out one last time before glancing at the clock. It was 9:40 pm. Just enough time for her to reach the lake by 10:30. The pink hedgehog took her keys and poofed them away while exiting her house.

Meanwhile Shadow was already there, waiting for her. He had been early this time. Leaning on his massive black shiny bike he stared across the lake. A light warm breeze tickled his face and he closed his eyes, relaxing. He enjoyed the warm summer nights. The weather was pleasant, the scenery was beautiful and he could ride his bike into the odd hours of the night. Sure, Shadow could glide or teleport instead of using a vehicle but he actually loved the feeling of riding his bike. The roaring engine and the passing city lights often calmed him down. He enjoyed slowing down in his free time.

The ebony hedgehog's ears twitched as he heard the light clicks of high heeled shoes nearing his direction. _Odd_. The only person he knew that wore those types of shoes was Rouge. But his ears clearly deciphered that this type of walk wasn't hers. Rouge's walking manner was always so loud and confident - well at least loud to his ears - while this walk was what he would typically hear from his pink companion. It was light and elegant.

"Oh hey Shadow! I'm not late, am I?"

Her soft cheery voice snapped him out of his thoughts and his suspicions were confirmed.

"You're just in time, Rose"

The black hedgehog turned this head to the pink female, his arms folded just below the fluffy white patch that sat on his chest. His crimson eyes skimmed up and down on her body, their expression unreadable. The gesture made Amy feel slightly nervous and once the hedgehog's lips curled up into his signature smug smirk, she felt a light blush creep on her cheeks.

"I bet you never dressed up like that for the faker."

The remark earned him a steady eye roll from the pink hedgehog and she crossed her arms in front of her chest, pulling the cardigan across her dress.

"I used to." Her voice wasn't as stern as she wanted it to be. She couldn't hide the sadness she felt because she didn't have reason to dress up like that anymore. When she and Sonic hung out, it was always around their friends. She didn't know why but she just didn't find a reason to dress up like that for him anymore. Maybe she just got comfortable around her blue hero, or maybe she had moved on from trying to impress him with looks. She was more keen on impressing him with her skills. Although with Shadow…

Something inside her made her want to look her best in front of the dark mysterious hedgehog. And around him, she never really felt the need to impress him with her skills. She actually felt pretty confident on that point, since Shadow was a pretty big part of her improvement. After that fateful fight and once she'd recovered, she had asked him to train her. And to her surprise he'd accepted.

"So this is how you take my compliments, huh?"

Amy blinked a couple of times in confusion and stared at Shadow who had lifted a brow at her.

"What compliment? I kind of got lost in thought…" She blushed a bit looking away, her hand pushing back a quill away from her face.

"I said, you look cute Rose." The male hedgehog smirked his voice rang smooth, soft and husky, to such an extent that if Amy was ice cream, she would've melted right there.

This caught the pink hedgehog off guard. Especially after her deep trail of thought. It took her a couple of seconds to process what Shadow had told her. But when the realization hit her, her cheeks burst into flames. The dark and gloomy had a tendency to give her compliments. He would do that when he wanted to make her stutter and make her nervous. Amy knew that Shadow took pleasure in seeing her brain stumble around and try to not to blurt out silly things. He loved to tease the hell out of her. And frankly, flirting was one of his favorite tactics. And for a guy who wasn't known to flirt around, he was damn good at it too.

"Why thank you, Shadow." Amy smiled confidently but the heat on her muzzle gave away the shyness that she was trying so hard to hide. And of course it didn't go unnoticed. She saw Shadow's smirk grow larger. Oh how she wanted to smack the smug arrogance off his face sometimes. But she knew that wouldn't exactly be fair after he just had complimented her, tease or not.

"Ahem, let's go." She looked away with an angry pout. The ebony hedgehog chuckled and stood up from his bike as both of them started walking away.

Both hedgehogs strolled through the lake's shore. Amy was doing most of the talking, telling Shadow how the lunch went and how her friends fooled around while Shadow listened and occasionally nodding and making small remarks at Sonic's foolish behaviour. At one point both of them sat on the grassy shore. Amy was sitting with her knees bent and rested her arms crossed on them, while Shadow laid back on his elbows with one leg bent up and the other layed down on the ground. Both hedgehogs stared at the beautiful scenery in front of them. It was a clear night, the sky was full with stars and the moon was full, shining in front of them, the water from the lake reflecting its light into a path. There was a brief silence between them. It wasn't awkward. It was actually very content and comfortable.

"Hey, Shadow?"

Amy was the first to break the silence which made the male hedgehog humm in response and revert his gaze towards her.

"Why don't you get along with Sonic?"

At this, Shadow once again raised a brow at the pink hedgehog. Wasn't it obvious?

"He's obnoxious, arrogant, narcissistic, a fake version of me"

The pink hedgehog sweatdropped, staring doubtfully at the male who laid back on the grass with his hands intertwined under his quills.

"Well...some of this might be true, but Sonic is a great friend and has a good heart."

Amy pouted and cocked her head above him while he stared at her with half-lid eyes and obvious irritation.

"And also, he is beneath me." The ebony hedgehog added, closing his eyes and smirking smugly.

It was Amy's turn to stare at him with a half amused, half annoyed look in her emerald eyes.

"Uh huh, because after all, you're the Ultimate Life Form, right?"

The pink hedgehog rolled her light eyes with a sarcastic smile on her face.

"Correct." Shadow's smirk grew into an arrogant side grin with a pair of canines showing, not bothering to open his eyes and see Amy's expression. He could feel her annoyance like a poke in the ribs, and he enjoyed it.

Amy stared at the dark hedgehog with an unamused look. Suddenly an idea popped in her head. A large sinister smile spread across the female's muzzle. This hedgehog was getting too cocky for his own good and needed to be taken off his holier than thou pedestal.

"Oh, _Shadow_…" He heard the girl sigh and suddenly felt a light touch on his shoulder. At this, his eyes shot open.

"You truly are the better hedgehog."

Amy gazed at him with half lidded eyes, a flirtatious smile spread across her muzzle, and a hand placed on his shoulder which traveled down to his forearm in a soft touch. His body tensed not used to the foreign lingering touch. He felt how a deep shade of red, that could match the stripes on his body, spread across his muzzle.

"R-Rose…"

Damn it, she caught him completely off guard. He felt flustered by the way the young female gazed at him, and how her hand made goosebumps appear on the surface of his skin, beneath his fur. He felt something building up inside him, something he had never felt before. Words were coming to life on his tongue, and he realized with a shock that he wanted to say something embarrassing - and he almost did too, but there was something that stopped him. Her muzzle had a hint of a smirk in the corner of her lip, and suddenly he realized she wasn't serious.

Was she teasing him? _Yes._

Was he aware of it? _Yes._

Did his body - his heart - respond the way he wanted it to? …..._Hell no_.

Amy giggled quietly pleased with the hedgehog's reaction.

"You know, you're pretty adorable when you're shy."

_Oh so that's how we're going to play, huh? _A sinister smirk curled up on his muzzle.

Suddenly, he grabbed her lingering hand and pulled her in, making the female hedgehog fall on his chest. A light gasp escaped her lips as she stared up at the male, her muzzle hidden from the white fluffy patch on his chest.

"Are you going to put your mouth where your words are?"

Amy's eyes suddenly widened at his dare. She felt the heat on her cheeks increase rapidly. The girl felt a sudden realisation hit her. What was she doing? Why was Shadow making her feel this way? Her whole body felt hot to the touch, one might even think that the hedgehog was getting a fever if they didn't see her in this position. His touch and his closeness made her swallow her whole grammar. And the way he stared at her made her feel even shyer. She averted her flustered gaze from him and lowered her eyes.

Shadow caught the gesture. His smirk inverted to a frown.

_She's probably thinking about that faker again…This is only a game to her._

Shadow sat up still holding her hand, the sudden movement made Amy look back at him in confusion. He stared at her eyes for a moment, his crimson orbs skimming her emerald ones for a hint of emotion aside from utter confusion and flustering.

"Joking, Rose. You know I'm better at this game."

The dark hedgehog sighed letting go of her hand. Amy, at this point had managed to regain her composure. A small reassuring smile appeared on her muzzle.

"You know I'd never admit that, Shadow." She laughed nervously, and suddenly she was standing, her thin white dress billowing around her in small breeze that was blowing across the lake. Shadow stood too, slower, his mind racing with mixed emotions. He knew he'd fucked up, but hell she had made the first move. She was to blame with her flirtatious games, and her teasing actions.

He watched her shuffle around on her feet, not saying a word and not looking at him. He suddenly felt angry, irrationally so. How dare she treat him as a stand in for that faker? He wasn't stupid. He knew that these little 'hangouts,' were her way of filling the void that Sonic couldn't. He hadn't really cared in the past, he's just been grateful to have a little company. A friend who wasn't promiscuous or super 'party crazy,' like Rouge. But now…

His feelings were getting dangerously merky, and his thoughts were flowing down a river, heading towards a waterfall of pain. They'd done this cat and mouse game for too long, and somewhere along the line, it had stopped being a game for him. He would never admit it, but it hurt... because he knew she didn't feel the same.

"Let's call it a night… I promised to stop by Rouge's club," he hadn't but he needed an excuse, "Do you need a ride home?"

Amy stopped her fidgeting, and her back had grown stiff at the mention of the bat. _Right._ Shadow always had to follow _her_ whims… Amy shook her head, and plastered a smile on her face to cover the confusion she felt at that wicked feeling which passed through her chest.

"That's okay. I'm a big girl. I can find my own way home."

She turned, and started walking back up the path. She was walking quickly, but she wanted to run. She wanted to get away from this night, from him. From the feelings that had swirled around them like hot vapors. What was _wrong_ with her?

Shadow stared after her, his stomach knotting uncomfortably. Chaos, this girl was going to be the death of him. He turned away from her fading, ghostly figure, and kicked a stone as hard as he could, feeling satisfied with the loud plop that it made when it hit the calm, still surface of the lake. The water rippled outwards, the inner rings were breaking waves of chaos, but as the rings spread out further, they calmed and smoothed to almost disappear into the mirror-like water. It was an illustration of what that damn girl was doing to him.

She was a rock that had burst into his calm waters and spread emotions and desires that he'd never had before through his heart. He had fought it at first, denied it, but as time had gone on, they had melted, his heart had absorbed, and now those feelings were there to stay.

He growled. He was acting _pathetic_, he was acting like that hateful blue menace. He turned and kicked his air shoes into high gear, gliding like a vengeful spirit back to his bike. There was one thing that could help him settle and quiet the feelings within. Vodka.

And as he swung onto his motorcycle, throwing his arms into the leather jacket that had been flung onto the seat, he thought he might just go visit Rouge afterall.

* * *

Shadow parked his bike in front of a black painted building which had a bright purple neon sign that read "Moulin Rouge". He killed the engine and got off the massive vehicle. The bar had a huge silver double door which had a gothic themed frame, and the air rumbled from the sound of electro pop coming from within.

The hedgehog took a deep breath and entered the bar, the interior was themed in gothic victorian style. The bar lined the right side of the space, and it was black oak with purple accents. Wine glasses and exposed light bulbs hung over the glossy surface, and the rest of the booths and tables followed suit with the same color and wood. It was a quality bar, and as such, just about every seat had an ass in it.

Rouge's bar was located in the center of the city, and it was a Saturday night. Not to mention that there weren't many bars in the area, so it was one of the few places where Mobians gathered to have a drink at this time of the night.

The ebony hedgehog frowned at the sight. He wasn't a fan of crowded places. However, he really needed that drink, and Rouge was usually pretty generous with her friends, and he didn't feel like looking around for another place to get drunk. Just when he had finished his thought, he saw a couple get up from bar and head for the exit. They'd been sitting at the corner, and the furthest chair was set apart from the other seats. He headed to the stool before someone else could take it.

He removed his jacket, and folded it on the edge of the bar. He settled into the seat and rested his hands on the thick wooden surface in front of him. His eyes skimmed the other side of the bar for the albino bat, but she was nowhere to be found. The guy who was serving drinks was a dark grey wolf with piercing blue eyes. The wolf wore a black dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and a name tag that read _Hunter_. After the wolf served a male fox his beer, he made his way over to Shadow as he flipped a towel over his shoulder.

"What can I get ya?"

"Vodka."

"You want some Red Bull along with that?"

"Just Vodka."

The wolf looked strangely at the dark hedgehog for a moment but then shrugged taking a large blue bottle, and pouring a healthy amount into a tall glass. As he poured, his blue eyes watched the hedgehog with curiosity.

"Rough night?"

The hedgehog didn't answer him but he glared at the bartender, and the wolf didn't pry into it any longer he didn't get paid enough to deal with pissy customers. He served the glass of vodka and moved to another Mobian who was calling out to him from the other end.

Shadow took a sip from the bitter liquid and sighed. His eyes skimmed around the place and landed on the 'Employee's Only' door behind the bar, as it was pushed open. The figure that exited with a loud chuckle, was someone he recognized immediately. He watched as a red bulky echidna turned towards the front, his large fist, wiping something pink off his mouth. After him, followed a giggling albino bat who was holding a compact powder case at an angle above her face, as she applied fresh gloss to her lips, it was the same shade as the pink streak that was now on the glove of the crimson male. The ebony hedgehog raised a brow at the scene. So that's what these two were preoccupied with.

Shadow smirked at the scene, Rouge had been chasing that tail for years, and he'd been sure the ex-guardian wasn't interested. He supposed that no one could resist Rouge for long, especially when she pulled out all the stops. Knuckles was still chuckling, and poking the bat when he glanced up and caught sight of the dark entity at the corner of the bar staring at them with a shit-eating grin. The echidna, stopped dead in his tracks, and pulled his hands back like he'd touched fire. Rouge looked at him with confused eyes, and when she followed his line of vision, she grinned widely at the hedgehog.

"Oh hey, Shads." Rouge crooned, her wings fluttering as she made a move in his direction. Knuckles still looked a little caught off-guard, but he quickly made his way to walked beside the bat.

At this Shadow mentally cursed himself and looked away from the approaching couple. _Just great._ He just wanted the night to be over. This was very unlikely to happen with Rouge curling her claws around him, and the scene he had just witnessed. He was sure that she'd wanted to 'chat' about it with him, and he was in no mood to discuss her love life.

"Well, well, well, haven't seen you around for a minute, handsome."

Her voice came forth sultry and seep as she reached the otherside of the bar from him. Shadow rolled his eyes, and flinched as Rouge smacked Knuckles ass as he made his way around the corner to sit on the vacant stool next to Shadow. The echidna jumped slightly from the touch, and his cheeks burst into a shade that rivaled his fur.

"Haven't seen you around, either. Guess this bar thing is working out for you." Shadow commented, his hand swirling the glass of vodka as he ignored the blatant sexual display in front of him. He glared at the echidna from the corner of his eye, not too pleased to be left without escape.

"Oh you know it, hon! I haven't had a night with less than half of my tables occupied since I opened." She took out a bottle of whiskey and poured a decent amount in a cup, sliding it to Knuckles with a wink. The echidna smirked at her and winked back as he took a sip.

Shadow stared at the exchange with disgust and rolled his eyes.

"Talkative as ever, I see." Rouge smirked at the hedgehog and took out a notepad and a pen from one of the drawers. "If you'll excuse me boys, I need to make a revision on my goods, I'll be back in a bit." She winked at them and went back to the employees door.

"So, Shadow," Knuckled started awkwardly while leaning his head on his hand. _Oh great, here comes the small talk_… "Now that you've had a taste, what are your thoughts on the show?" The echidna continued, ignoring the dark uninviting aura coming off the grumpy hedgehog.

"It's foolish." He stated roughly and stared ahead at no particular place. Knuckles scoffed, taking a swig of whiskey.

"I know what you mean. They really messed up both of our characters." He sighed and took another sip. Shadow wouldn't normally converse with the bulky echidna, but the anger from earlier was still fresh, and he felt a comradery connection to Knuckles from the ridiculous scripted characters they played. That or the alcohol was starting to kick in.

"Who do these low lifes think they are? Making a fool out of the Ultimate Lifeform…" Shadow growled and tightened his grip around the glass almost to a breaking point.

"I know what you mean, dude. They made me so dumb and brainless… Sure it can be funny but most of the time it's just plain demeaning," Knuckles whined and leaned on the counter taking a bigger sip of his whiskey.

"Exactly! At least they didn't make you a basic 2 dimensional villain, who only thinks about battling Sonic… I could give two shits about that blue idiot." Shadow rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Yeah, that sucks, but at least you don't have lines like: I don't know which end of the toothbrush goes in your nose." The red echidna said in his 'Boom Knuckles' voice, his eyes going cross eyed which earned an amused chuckle from the hedgehog.

"I don't know how you put up with this bullshit everyday." Shadow shook his head and drank the rest of the vodka in one go. He slammed the glass on the counter and slid it to the wolf for a refill.

"The schedule is crazy, we shoot everyday for 3 months straight now. But what else do I have to do? There's no enemies to fight, and I didn't have a job before this, so it fills my days. You're lucky you only did a cameo for one episode." Knuckles drank the rest of the whiskey and did the same with his glass. The wolf stared at both hedgehog and echidna with an irritated expression, but took their cups and filled them up. He served them and left to wipe some bottles.

"I'm not repeating that mistake again." The male hedgehog shook his head and grabbed his glass again.

"Here's to the worst interpretation of us, and not getting paid enough for this shit." Knuckles lifted his glass for a toast. Shadow stared at him leaning on his hand, narrowing his gaze as he debated whether to reciprocate. It was new for him to feel a bond with another male, and he realized that he didn't hate talking to Knuckles, he was actually happy to vent to him.

"Bottom's up." He finally said and also lifted his glass. The echidna grinned at the hedgehog as their glasses clinked and both of them downed the rest of their drinks in one gulp.

After about half an hour, and two to three more rounds, Shadow started feeling tipsy. Knuckles on the other hand was full blown drunk. Shadow stared at him with a smirk with humor, taking dark pleasure that he could hold his drink better than the large male. _Pheh… Light weight. Can't even hold his drink._

"Hey... Shadoe ol' pal," The crimson echidna slurred and pulled a heavy arm on the hedgehog's shoulders which earned him a very annoyed look. The ebony hedgehog was feeling closer to him, but not _that_ close.

"Whassup with you and Amy?"

Shadow grunted and pushed the heavy arm off his shoulders.

"Nothing that concerns you."

"Aw c'mon, I know you dig her, and there's nothing wrong with that." Knuckles shrugged and closed his eyes for a moment. His muzzle had become a light shade of pink from all the alcohol, and his amethyst eyes were very misty. "I don't get why you guys are acting so oblivious with all your dates."

"They're not real dates…" The hedgehog growled lowly looking away. He could hear the hurt creeping into his voice, and he didn't want to risk it reflecting in his eyes. He sure as hell was not that chummy with the nosy echidna to have him witness that.

"Oh? You sure sound like you want them to be, though." At this Knuckles raised a brow, as a teasing, drunk smirk curled the corners of his muzzle.

Shadow turned to his drunk companion and narrowed his eyes in a cold glare. He didn't like where this conversation was going.

"And what if we really are dating, what's it to you?" Shadow decided to play along with his game, but it would be _on his terms_.

"Well, to me? Nothing, but Sonic on the other hand…" Knuckles had trailed off looking innocently to the other side. Now this caught Shadow's attention. Maybe he could obtain some inside information from the drunk fool.

"What about the faker?" Shadow crossed his arms and leaned against the backrest of the stool.

"Sonic's acting all jelly belly." Knuckles practically giggled like a schoolgirl. "He still thinks he has Amy wrapped around his finger and denies that she could have anything more with you, but…" The echidna paused. At this point Shadow was clenching his jaw and was glaring daggers at him, or more likely at the thought of Sonic's arrogant statements. He thought he had Amy wrapped around his finger? Oh how wrong he was. Amy might've once been crazy head over heels for that faker but that wasn't the case anymore. That self-absorbed arrogant bastard probably didn't even notice the shift in her demeanor over the years. He never deserved her, never will.

"He's actually pretty jealous of you, Shads, I can see how threatened he feels around you. He knows that you treat Amy in a way that he never has and it's obvious that she likes it," The echidna finished pulling his hands up over the back of his head and leaned back to his stool.

Realisation suddenly struck Shadow. The drunk idiot was right. The faker may be Amy's first love, but he never treated her the way Shadow did. The blue ass never slowed down for her. And Amy herself had told him once that she was tired of 'chasing the stars', as she put it.

"That may be true...But he's still the one she loves, not me…" He mumbled to himself looking down at his half empty glass of vodka.

Knuckles eyes opened lazily and gave the dark hedgehog a look but decided to pretend he didn't hear that. It would probably make the anti-hero angrier and he wasn't really up to see what a tipsy Ultimate Lifeform looked like pissed. He glanced at Rouge who was writing down some numbers on the other side of the bar, but he knew she was listening to their conversation by the way her left ear was folded slightly at their direction. And he knew, from experience, that the albino beauty had hella good hearing. The red echidna decided to leave this to her. She was closer to Shadow, and he didn't feel right giving love advice to the rival of his best friend.

"Welp, Shads, it was nice talkin' to ya, but I should get going." He patted the hedgehog's shoulder, snapping him out of his thoughts. Shadow's quills bristled and almost stabbed the echidna's hand, but Knuckles quickly retreated it, from the sudden motion. Luckily, he was used to being around startled hedgehogs. The ebony male stared blankly at him and nodded him a goodbye.

When Knuckles left, Rouge made her way to the brooding male.

"Having girl trouble, gloomy?"

Shadow frowned and glared at the female. He should've known that she'd been eavesdropping. Nothing escaped the bat's large ears. Helpful on missions, but hella annoying in any other situation.

"Why don't you mind your own _business_? You seem to have your hands full..." The hedgehog nodded to the now empty stool beside him where Knuckles previously sat.

"My '_business,_" She replied with a mischievous glint in her seafoam eyes, "is running great, in fact, it's keeping my… _desires_ satisfied, and my nights full of steamy _activities."_ Rouge was practically licking her lips, and Shadow shivered in disgust. She smirked, "Since I'm content with how things are going in my life, I have time to worry about your messy situation. So spill the deets." The bat crossed her arms under her massive chest and lifted a brow demandingly at the hedgehog.

Shadow growled, his hand fisting on the bar. This day was just going _great_ for him. First he got pissed on by the writers of that stupid show, then he almost scared off his date - ahem - _friend_, and now he couldn't even have a single drink, alone, in peace, and Rouge was about to give him a full blown headache. Yes, she was a close friend of his, but that didn't mean that he was about to chat with her about his relationship… or rather the lack of his relationship. It was _beneath_ him.

"Okay, if you're not going to talk, then I'll start guessing." Rouge shrugged her shoulders and pulled out a stool from under the counter. She sat and poured herself a glass of rum and mixed it with some coca cola and started talking again. "You have feelings for her, but you don't want to act on it in case you get rejected."

"Pheh, as if anyone could reject me." The hedgehog smirked confidently and folded his arms, puffing out his chest.

"Well, okay, at least we know that your head hasn't gotten any smaller." Rouge looked at him with an amused look that earned her a frown and an eye roll. "Okay…" She thought about it for a bit, putting a single finger on her lips, tapping them a couple of times while staring up at the ceiling. "Oh...I got it!" She exclaimed as a sinister smile spread across her lips. "You're afraid."

"I'm not afraid of anyone or anything." Shadow denied, his gaze shifting to the side, and his quills bristling. But the bat's sinister smile still remained on her face.

"You're afraid that she loves _him_ but since _he_ pays no attention to her, she's using you just as a distraction. A way to fill out _his_ place. Or worse, using you to get to him."

The hedgehog suddenly winced. The glass that he held in his hand burst from the pressure of his grip. Rouge jumped a bit from the pop but remained her still. Her employee's head snapped in their direction, but she nodded calmly at him, signalling everything was fine. Hunter narrowed his eyes, but disappeared in the back and returning a moment later with a broom and dust pan.

"Seems like I've hit a sore spot." The albino mumbled and took the small broom and pan from the wolf, who was still glaring at Shadow.

Shadow unclenched his hand as the large pieces of thick glass spread out on the wooden counter. His glove was shredded from the shards, but his palm was scratch free, thanks to his unbreakable skin. Not that he cared about that at the moment. The albino's words rang in his head over and over. He didn't want to admit it to himself, but the alcohol was messing with his filters, and he realized that he did have those fears. As worthless, and deplorable as it was, he was afraid that Amy was using him.

"Listen, Shadow," Rouge started while brushing the glass off the counter to the pan. "I'm not gonna lie to you, you've chosen a pretty tough target." She took his hand and brushed off the remaining small pieces of glass off of it. "But you're not the prettiest bowl of cherries either." The bat teased in an attempt to lighten the mood a bit, and apparently it worked as the hedgehog yanked his hand from hers and grumbled a "hmpt". "First love, first heartbreak, these things aren't easy to forget. And even harder to move on from. She's got some issues, and she's in denial. But," She continued while dropping the glass out of the pan into the trash.

Shadow's frown deepened. Rouge had a point. How was she supposed to forget about that faker when he was constantly around her? How would she realize that there are better males out there, when her life and job, revolved around that fool.

"I've seen the way you two interact. Honestly, I'm surprised that with all the pent up tension built up between the both of you, that you haven't burst into passionate sex." The bat hummed casually while wiping the counter.

This made Shadow gape at her. His muzzle quickly turned a dark shade of red and so did the insides of his ears. The thought of it made the hedgehog extremely uncomfortable, but at the same time he felt a heat rise up within him at the thought of her body beneath his. And most embarrassing part of all, was the fact that his tail started to wag ever so slightly.

Rouge glanced at the preoccupied hedgehog from the corner of her eye and grinned widely. She never expected to witness such a reaction from him. It was adorable and not to mention hilarious to her. But, she did have a little sympathy for the charged male, and decided she could give him a little 'Rouge Wisdom.'

"Calm your tail, handsome. See? That's what I mean, just the mere thought of it sends you into overdrive." She chuckled and crossed her arms.

Shadow glared furiously at the female, his blush fading away slowly, as he took control of his emotions, and body, once more.

"You're not helping."

"Well lucky for you, I actually know how to help you." The albino put her hands on her waist and smirked. Shadow narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously, if she was about to crack another sex joke, he was out of there faster than a wild Sonic hearing there's a chilli dog sale.

"I think Pinky just needs a little push in the right direction." She mused, placing the broom and dustpan beneath the counter.

The dark hedgehog lifted a brow, expecting for her to continue.

"_Jealousy_ is a powerful weapon." She smirked confidently cocking her head slightly to the side.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Shadow was tired of beating around the bush. This conversation was already way beyond his limits.

"Well, it is a certain way to find out whether she really has feelings towards you, or if you're just her stand-in guy. Get a gal to hang off your arm for a few days, and see how she reacts."

Now that was an interesting thought. Shadow pondered on her words. If she really did just see him as a friend, she wouldn't feel jealous, right? But if she felt something…

"So, I volunteer to do the job." Rouge put a hand to her chest smiling.

"What…?" He blinked with confusion at her.

"I'll flirt with you when she's around and take up your attention." Rouge shrugged her shoulders again casually.

"NO!" He growled at her slamming his fist on the counter.

"Oh chill! I won't go overboard." The albino rolled her eyes at his pissy reaction. She'd gotten used to them over the years, she knew that the hedgehog was all bark and no bite towards her. Didn't mean it didn't annoy her. _Damn, this boy has his work cut out for him… my sympathies to Amy..._

"Yeah? And what if that just drives her away from me?" Shadow mentally cursed himself the moment that insecure sentence left his mouth. He'd just admitted out loud that he really did have feelings for the pink hedgehog and was worried about losing her. But Rouge didn't react to that. She was really tempted to tease the shit out of him for admitting it but she knew that if she did he would deny her help and won't share anything with her. This whole situation was just too juicy and amusing for her to lose it on the first opportunity to tease him. So she kept her composure and moved on with her plan.

"You won't flirt back, dummy. Don't show any interest and you won't push her away." She explained and was relieved to see his anger dull a bit. But the hedgehog shook his head.

"No." he said sternly.

"C'mon, let me help you out!" Rouge whined as her ears dropped in disappointment.

"No. I've had enough of this." He stood up from his chair and reached back into his quills. He pulled out a black leather wallet and took a bill of hundred rings and slammed it on the counter. "Keep the change." He said in a monotone voice and placed the wallet back in his quills. He grabbed his jacket from the end of the bar, and started to stomp away.

Rouge stared at the leaving hedgehog frowning, took the bill and pushed it in her cleavage. The stubborn hedgehog might not agree with her plan, but she didn't need his permission. She didn't care whether he wanted her help or not, he _needed_ her help. She was tired of his grumpy lonely ass and she wasn't about to stand back and watch him ruin his chances with the only girl she'd seen him have a connection. Grinning evilly, Rouge returned to the back of the bar to prepare for battle.


	3. Episode 3: Inner Conflict

**A/N**

**Hello my dear readers! Sorry for the delay but this chapter took some rewriting! I didn't like how it first turned out, it was too dry for my liking, but thanks to my wonderful inspiration and Beta, Nothin'Fancy, we managed to make it way better! She helped me so much with the direction of this story! **

**Anyway, I've decided to change the pairing preference since Sonic's involvement with Amy is larger than I anticipated at first. We'll have some SonAmy but the main pairing still remains ShadAmy, so stay tuned for some juicy drama in the next chapters!**

**I hope the wait was worth it, please enjoy and share your opinion about the story!**

* * *

**Episode 3: Inner Conflict**

The set of _Sonic Boom _in SEGA studios was abuzz with activity. Crew members ran back and forth with props and costumes, moving like frantic worker bees, desperate to please their queen. Season one had been a huge success, and after a month of hiatus to give the crew and actors a break, production for a second season was already underway.

Amy sat still as she stared into the mirror of her changing room, her stylist and her agent chatted behind her about the upcoming season while they styled her quills. This was always Amy's least favorite part of her job. She didn't really care for the feel of other people dressing her, their hands moving about her body, and messing around with her fur, quills, and makeup. However, she had grown to accept it, and instead used the time to reflect on her day and bring herself to a calm and focused place.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Today in particular she was in need of inner peace. Her stomach had been in knots all morning, and she honestly could not pinpoint the reason as to why. Especially since for the past month, she had been feeling quite the opposite.

During the past month, she had seen little to none of her co-stars. Sonic and Tails had gone off the explore other countries in an attempt to feel that sense of adventure from the good old days. Knuckles had seemed to completely fall off the grid, and she had honestly not given it much thought, as she found that she enjoyed the relief of a maleless life. She had spent most of her time helping around Cream's bakery and treating herself to spa days.

She had been so focused on herself and relaxing, that she hadn't thought about much else. However, now that she was thrust back into her responsibilities, her mind started overworking and was sending her signals of panic. She cringed as she felt the stylist begin plucking at the mismatched fur on her muzzle.

She didn't want to admit it, but there were two hedgehog's in particular that she both dreaded, and at the same time, found herself a nervous ball of energy at the idea of seeing again after a full month. She hadn't seen Shadow at all since their last 'date,' and she knew it wouldn't be fair to avoid him forever. But why was she avoiding him in the first place? _Sonic…_

She sighed, and the sound caused the hands applying the final touches to her look pause. "Are you alright Ms. Rose?"

Amy's eyes opened in slits and she tried her best to smile, "Yes, thank you. Are we almost done?"

The female cat flicked her ears, and she huffed stuffing the makeup back into one of the many glittering bags on the vanity. Amy felt a misplaced annoyance fill her at the girl's attitude, but she gritted her teeth and formed another smile.

"Sorry… guess I'm just a little grumpy to be back at work."

The cat glanced at her, and narrowed her eyes, but she took the peace offering and swiped her hand in front of her, "No worries dear, and yes, I think you're all finished. They'll be ready to begin in a few minutes, so I recommend heading out there."

The stylist smiled and gathered her personal makeup box, her tail flicking the entire time. Amy shut her eyes as she heard the door close, and braced herself for what was to come. She was about to see Sonic for the first time in a month, and she just didn't know how she was going to react to seeing him, especially after the whirlwind of confusion that had developed this morning.

A confusion that had begun that night a month ago when her and Shadow had almost… She shook her head and smacked her cheeks. That was nothing! It was a joke, they both had said so. She had successfully ignored the moment all month, pushed the muddled emotions into a dark corner of her heart. Until this morning it had all came back… the feeling of his hand on the small of her back, his ruby eyes glazing with seriousness as he dared her to put her mouth to his, and the heat she had felt…She wouldn't admit it, but the mixed feelings today could be traced back to the fact she'd woken up from a dream she couldn't remember. But it'd left her panting and with the same heat from that night flowing through her body. She had even felt the ghost of his touch on her -

"Nope! Hahaha!" She announced, standing abruptly. She probably was just a little ill from something she ate the day before, which had resulted in a small fever. There was no way she had dreamed of anything _scandalous..._ especially not about Shadow. She smiled crazily at herself in the mirror and smashed the feeling down, before exiting her room quickly.

Walking out onto the set, she felt the unrest within her build to a crescendo, and she started picking at the sports tape the stylist had just painstakingly put on her arms. _Maybe I should just say I feel sick and go home._ Panicking, she whipped around and bumped into someone. A startled squeak popped out of her mouth and as she felt herself fall towards the ground, but a firm hand gripped her lower back and kept her from falling.

"Woah there Ames! What's got you in a rush?"

Amy blinked, and when she focused on the face above her, she felt nervous butterflies join the acid ocean in her stomach. Gorgeous emerald eyes stared at her with humor, and a slick smirk was showing glittering white fangs from a handsome azure face. She hadn't realized how much she had missed him until she was staring at him in the flesh. Not to mention the fact that his touch was holding her suspended in the air with gentle strength was causing her muzzle to turn into a lava pool. Sonic's smirk suddenly flattered, as his own muzzle turned a little pink at her reaction. He immediately steadied her and then he hopped back, his hand finding a new home on the back of his neck.

The two hedgehogs stood awkwardly next to each other, and Amy felt, ironically, like running from the entire situation. And then, like she had been slapped in the face, she felt a bizarre understanding wash over her. She looked at the male before her, he was standing there, grinning awkwardly and rubbing his quills into a tangled mess. _Wow… did he always want to run away because of __similar_ _conflict__ed_ _feelings? But that would mean…_

"Yo yo! Look at this! My two favorite hedgies!" The cheerful, deep voice broke through the tension like Amy's very own hammer, and suddenly the two hedgehogs were squeezed into a bear hug that only their very own echidna friend would be able to give.

Amy felt the warm tingle intensify on her muzzle from the sudden crushing body contact with the blue blur. Both hedgehogs were practically squished together by the massive arms of the crimson echidna, causing Sonic and Amy to be inches away from a kiss if either one of them turned their head.

"O-oh..! We missed you too buddy!" Sonic managed to choke out while desperately trying to squeeze out of the grip.

Knuckles grinned mischievously fidgeting the hug a bit in an attempt to get his hedgehog friends in an even more awkward position with impure intentions. At this point, Sonic was too busy trying to slip away, to notice how close his face was to his female cast mate. Amy on the other hand couldn't even breathe, and it wasn't just the rib crushing embrace. She could feel him pressed against her, her head was resting on his chest, and her hand was positioned awkwardly near his rear end which felt full and toned in a way that made her fingers twitch with a desire to _squeeze_.

"Awww, I missed you guys too!" Suddenly the hug was joined by Ivo who grinned under his moustache. At that point the male hedgehog had enough of this.

"O-okay, okay! Enough hugging!" Sonic coughed and finally managed to squeeze himself out of the death grip. Knuckles frowned inwardly at the clueless hedgehog and let them go. Amy rubbed her arms and smiled awkwardly.

"Way to ruin the moment, Sonic." Ivo grunted and crossed his arms as he walked over to the catering table to indulge in the appetizing hors d'oeuvres. At this the blue hero only rolled his eyes and pulled a gloved hand back over his quills to smooth out the snagged pieces. As his hand moved through his ocean quills, his emerald eyes glanced at Amy, and he almost seemed to glow to her. She didn't know if it was because they hadn't seen each other for a month - and for the past couple years they had not been separated for more than a couple days - or if she was just plain crazy. She had heard the saying in the past, that distance makes the heart grow fonder, but did it also make your crush look sexier?

"So, how was your trip?" Amy finally managed to compose herself and put on a sweet smile turning to Sonic, who had been joined by Tails. The two males looked over at her, and the fox beamed in excitement at the question.

"It was awesome! We went to Japan, it was so different and interesting there!" The young fox exclaimed and pulled out his tablet to show off photos.

"It wasn't bad. They had a lot of merch of us - Boom us - which was kind of weird to see." The blue hedgehog shrugged nonchalantly. Amy and Knuckles gathered around Tails to look at the photos.

"They had really cool food there, and Sonic got to race." The kitsune explained while swiping the photos of him and Sonic trying out some foreign food, and standing in front of beautiful buildings and monuments, along with photos of their miniature action figures.

"Oh yeah, that was the best part of the trip." The hedgehog smirked confidently. "I admit, these guys really know how drift, but they never stood a chance against me in a race with Blue Force One." He grinned smugly pointing a thumb at his chest. This earned an amused eye roll from his friends.

"Gather up everyone, time to start!" A male squirrel announced speaking through his megaphone and signaled the group that it was time to get to work.

The first day of filming was very casual, as the actors were given time to read over the script and read it out loud without acting so that they could get the feel of the scene and how to present it. The first couple hours were fine, Amy simply sat with the crew and went over her portions with the director to make sure she was understanding what they were looking for. Finally, close to the end of the day, the cast was sat together to run through the lines.

They settled in around a large round table, and they first discussed what they thought were problem areas, or tips that they needed to keep in mind. Knuckles put his reading glasses on and cleared his throat, his eyes skimming through the script.

"I can't believe we're about to meet Tommy Thunder! He's my favorite movie star! He's got it all: Strength, muscles, ability to lift stuff!" The echidna exclaimed and glanced at Amy who was next to read.

"Not to mention eyes you could get lost in for days!" The female sighed, her gaze unconsciously landing on a certain blue hedgehog who was leaning on his hand and looking at the script, his eyes rolling ever so slightly at the flirty comment about the new character.

"As if Amy would fangirl over a new random character." He interrupted and put his script down looking at the script writer. "That seems so out of character." He waved his hand nonchalantly.

"How is it out of character? 'Amy' has a tendency to have a crush on new characters in this show, like the time we introduced Swifty the Shrew and Justin Beaver. What about this time makes it any different?" The script writer rubbed his temples already feeling annoyed to be interrupted on the second line of the script.

Sonic narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms.

"I think 'Amy' should only fangirl around 'Sonic'." He placed his legs on the table, crossing them, and he leaned back on his chair making it stand only on two of its four legs. He was looking at the group with arrogant 'I know better than you,' eyes, and Amy forgot all the earlier butterflies she had felt towards him. She smashed her fist into the table and growled.

"No way!" Amy glared at Sonic dropping her script on the table. "I am no one's fangirl!" She growled making the script writer drop his head into his hands.

"'Amy' isn't fangirling, she's just having an ordinary celebrity crush like most teenage girls have." The male bandicoot sighed deeply and lifted up his head. "Now can we _please _continue?" He practically hissed out the 'please' and looked over to Tails to continue with his line.

The blue hedgehog rolled his eyes once again while rocking back and forth on his chair waiting for his next line.

"Hey, remember when Tommy was being chased by ninja pirates while skiing down Haunted Mountain?" The young fox read through the text casually and glanced at his echidna co-star.

"What movie was that again?"

"Ninja Ski Pirates on Haunted Mountain?"

"I don't think that was it." Knuckles read the line and made a disappointed face turning to the screenwriter. The bandicoot squinted his eyebrows warningly at the echidna giving him a '_Don't you dare' _look, to which Knuckles sighed in defeat.

They continued reading along without any more interruptions. The screenwriter sighed in relief listening to their interpretations, finally feeling calm that everything was going smoothly.

"I was just thinking, completely on my own, that you should give him another chance! Let him follow you for a few days." Amy smiled reading through with a quirky voice making hand gestures in a 'as-a-matter-of-fact' way. She glanced at her fellow hedgehog who was still swinging back and forth, a bored look on his face.

"But he's such a phony! Only a slack jawed _rube_ would be charmed by that guy." Sonic retorted to this as he looked back at the pink hedgehog who was sitting right across him from the table. His gaze was lazy, but self assured, and his quills bristled a little when he said the line.

Amy was suddenly completely lost in his jade eyes. Her eyes locked onto his and he gave her a little eye roll and wink, as though saying 'this is stupid.' She giggled nervously at their telepathy, and only gave her next line a quick glimpse before saying it.

"Right...Well, not everyone can be as _hot __and heroic _as you_._ This is your chance to fix that! He can finally make a film that expresses what it's really like to be a hero!"

Suddenly a loud thud could be heard and everyone's attention redirected to Amy. Her head snapped up when she heard the noise, and looking around the table her face reflected their confused expressions. What was the problem? Did they not like the line… _Oh shit…_ her hand slapped into her mouth as she realized what had happened. Her eyes darted to the right where Sonic was laying on the floor having fallen back from surprise.

"Shit!" He groaned rubbing his quills while trying to process what Amy just said.

"I appreciate your _interpretation_, Amy." The bandicoot was frowning deeply. Oh this day was never going to be over. He knew it'd been a mistake to give the actors a month off of set. "But let's stick to the script… PLEASE!" His fingers crunched the papers that laid on the table in front of him.

"R-right...Sorry…" Amy blushed furiously feeling everyone's eyes on her, but she was thankful that the bandicoot covered her unintentionally.

Sonic finally lifted his chair back up, and he felt his head spinning from connecting with the ground. However, this didn't stop him from blurting,

"W-wait a second… did she just say -"

"I've had it!" The bandicoot stood up angrily and started ripping his script into tiny pieces going into full rage mode. "I'm sick and tired of working with ammature actors! You can't pay me enough to take this crap! Either pull your shit together or I quit!" He shouted throwing the pieces all over the table while the team stared at him silently disturbed by the outburst. Sonic's eye twitched and was about to protest but Tails patted him on the shoulder and shook his head quickly signaling him to keep quiet and continue reading. The hedgehog narrowed his eyes and pulled his chair up. He sat down and took his script and continued reading his lines.

* * *

"Boy, that was freaking embarrassing…" Amy mumbled to herself feeling extremely sick to her stomach from the incredibly stupid slip up. She and the rest of the crew had awkwardly finished reading through the script, and after that display no one dared question or improvise the screenplay. The writer had given them all a glare before announcing they could take a break, because he had a few changes to make before continuing, and stormed out off set.

Sonic had looked at her, his emerald eyes filled with question, and she saw him start to make his way towards her. But thankfully he was stopped by Tommy who wanted some acting tips. The blue hedgehog looked troubled, but Amy didn't wait for him to turn the tiger away. She quickly made a shallow excuse of needing the lady's room, and dashed as quickly as she could away from the casting room.

Now she strolled through the island set to clear her head and try to avoid yet again her blue hero. She gave polite nods and smiles to anyone who greeted her, but her mind was scrambling for a way to escape her current predicament. What did Sonic think of her now? It had been a while that either of them had faced the feelings she had for him head on, and they'd developed a comfortable friendship. But with this one mistake, they were once again thrown into the awkward situation of Sonic's less than romantic feelings for her.

She groaned, and kicked a styrofoam cup that was on the ground. _How am I __supposed to get __through the rest of the day__? I really don't want to hear those careful words of rejection from him again_… The pink hedgehog placed both her hands to the side of her head, shutting her eyes and shaking it back and forth as she continued walking. She failed to notice that she had carelessly wandered into the eggbot storage room for the show. It was common knowledge to keep away without having the proper gear and backup. As Amy quickly discovered the hard way...

"**Watch out!**"

The sudden shout brought her back from her thoughts and before the rosette could completely comprehend the warning, she felt a cold metal object connect with her stomach. Time seemed to slow around her, as her eyes popped open just in time to see her stomach collapse under a metal fist, and a sickening grunted was pulled from the depths of her throat as she was knocked off the ground and sent flying a few meters back. Her back and head smacked into solid concrete and she saw stars as she collapsed to the ground clutching her diaphragm. Her mouth gaped like a fish for a couple seconds as she attempted and failed to fill her lungs with air.

Before she could compose herself, she saw through tear filled eyes the bot retract it's arm and begin to move towards her. _Dammit! Why is this bot even functional?!_ She gasped again and tried to lift herself up, it had been too long since the last real battle she'd been in and she found that'd she'd completely forgotten how to recover quickly from a actual blow. Everything on the show was scripted, and even though they did their own stunts, the choreographers were very careful to make sure they were never in real danger, having multiple fail safes for the robots.

She snapped her hammer into existence and prayed she would be ready when the thing lunged. The mantis bot was getting closer now and she gulped, fear rippling through her body for the first time since two years ago, and she felt close to vomiting.

Then like a blue streak sent from heaven, she watched as Sonic spin dashed into the badnik, causing metal shards and sparks to fly all around. He hit it several times before unrolling and landing a few feet away with a furious look on his face.

Amy felt all the tension and fear that was locking up her muscles release, and her hammer disappeared in a puff of pink. She felt light headed and even though she could breathe again, her throat burned.

Sonic was glaring at the crumpled mess, his heart pounding in his chest frantically, but from the corner of his eye he saw Amy slump forward on the wall. Fear like he hadn't felt in a long time flooded him like a tsunami.

"Amy!" Sonic shouted, his jade eyes going wide in shock and his body moving instinctively as he dashed to her side. He knelt down next to her and gently made her sit up. Her eyes were shut and suddenly his mind went wild with thoughts that she had died. He felt a sickness in his stomach, and he quickly started to pat her cheek while shouting, "Come on Amy! Open your eyes!"

She groaned, and her eyes fluttered open. "Jeez! K-keep it down will ya?" She croaked, her body twisting slightly as she tried to alleviate the discomfort in her core. Sonic's whole body deflated with relief and he sighed. Chaos… she was okay… he hadn't lost her. He'd forgotten what this felt like, the constant fear of losing the ones you care for. He had grown complacent, comfortable in their new life. He realized quite suddenly that even if they weren't battling real enemies everyday, she could be taken from him at any moment. His green eyes shone like electrical sparks, and he placed his forehead to hers.

"Ames I -"

"You okay Amy?!"

The shout caused Sonic to look up, and he immediately shut his trap as he saw Knuckles and Tails run over. The red echidna knelt down next to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. She was now holding her chest and still gasping for air.

"Take deep breaths, Amy, slow and deep." The two tailed fox knelt on one knee next to his friend, while Sonic gently rubbed the female hedgehog's back, his eyes skimming frantically over her. His mind was going into an overdrive. Now that the initial shock was over, he started obsess on the details to distract from that uncomfortable feeling that had taken root within him. Amy should've reacted, as she always did, not stand in the way of the blow like a deer frozen in front of headlight. Something wasn't right. He'd never seen his female companion so distracted. And why the hell was she even strolling through the robot testing grounds in the first place?!

The air started to buzz, as curious crew members and staff gathered in the hall and doorway, mumbling and glancing with looks ranging from concerned and curious. Sonic glanced up and he felt anger overtake his body at the lack of assistance. Didn't they see Amy was injured?! They just stood there and watched the scene like innocent bystanders.

"What are you all standing there for?! Call a medic, she can't breathe!"

His growling shout was enough to make the director himself jump and snap out of his shock, "Call Dr. Vixen, right now! We have an emergency!" He barked at his assistant who quickly grabbed his phone and dialed for the doctor.

"S-sonic…" Amy managed to let out, taking slower and deeper breaths trying to regain her composure. She felt her chest burn as each breath attempted to fill her empty lungs. The blue hero snapped his gaze immediately towards her, his anger dying down a bit from the relief to hear her speak with more strength in her voice then before. "I'll….be okay…" She put a hand on his shoulder breathing deeply.

Knuckles sighed relieved to see his friend was regaining herself slowly, and stood up, "I'll get you a bottle of water, Amy." The echidna said making his way out of the room.

"Are you feeling better?" Tails smiled sympathetically at the pink female, who nodded at him. "That's good, but we definitely need a medic to check if you have any bruises or broken ribs. We shouldn't underestimate the blow you took." The kitsune explained and also stood up. Knuckles returned and gave Amy the bottle of water. She took it and nodded him a thank you, as she opened it and took a couple of small gulps.

"What happened out there, Ames…? Why didn't you jump out of the way?" Sonic spoke softly staring at the girl before him. She could see the worry and fear in his eyes. _Fear?_ She blinked a couple times and felt the butterflies join the mess in her stomach. That was… unusual for Sonic to show that kind of emotion.

"I kind of got distracted… Sorry to get you all worried for me, it was pretty stupid of me to casually walk around this place." She looked in his eyes innocently, guilt filling her emerald orbs mixed with a hint of shame. How could she let herself get hit so easily? Yes, the blow had been unexpected, but her reactions were usually faster than that. She was growing rusty, and she was making mountains out of ant hills with her incessant worrying over Sonic and her feelings for him.

"Don't beat yourself up over it, Ames," Sonic smiled reassuringly at her, his eyes soft, with a hint of worry lingering in his jade orbs. "It happens to the best of us, it's pretty easy to get distracted and bored out of all the predictability we have on set. There's no use to criticize yourself, I know you." The hedgehog winked at her, removing his hand from her back and placed it on her shoulder.

"Thanks…" Amy smiled sincerely. His words truly encouraged her, and a small deeply buried side of her couldn't help but relish his touch.

In the meantime, the doctor arrived to the set and hurried to Amy's side. Sonic stood up and joined his friends, leaving the doctor to her elder female fox gently put her stethoscope on the pink hedgehog's chest and started listening to her breathing. After a bit, she examined her ribs and came to a conclusion.

"You're going to be okay, dear. Judging by the lack of pain and no bruising, you don't have any fractures or broken ribs, you just had the air in your lungs knocked out of you. You should rest up today, don't do any heavy activities. If you feel any pain in this region, please contact me so we can take an x-ray to eliminate the possibility of hairline fractures. For now, I don't think it's needed."

The rosette hedgehog nodded and thanked the doctor. Sonic helped her stand up and she brushed her clothes from all the dirt.

"Alright, Amy, go home and rest up." The director walked over to both hedgehogs and looked at the pink girl. "If you don't feel well, take a break for a couple of days." The director usually didn't give the cast time off during shootings, but the fear of an upcoming lawsuit for not taking safety precautions around the area where they kept the eggbots, would definitely shut down the show. He felt lucky that the injury wasn't that serious, so he decided not to push his luck further.

"No, no, I don't need more breaks. I'll rest today and I'll be back tomorrow." The squirrel looked at her unsure but decided to trust her judgement. After all, the more they postponed the production, the bigger the budget they had to spend.

"Alright, but if you don't feel well tomorrow, contact us."

The male squirrel walked away and Sonic looked at Amy again.

"Want me to walk you home?" There was still worry in his voice. The male hedgehog couldn't help it. Sure, it wasn't a serious injury, but it still could've ended up worse. She could've had her ribs fractured, or shattered, a piece of bone could've impaled her lungs or heart and it could've been lethal.

"No, don't worry, you guys continue reading over the transcript, I'm not in this episode much anyway. I'm fine, I can go home by myself." She shook her head and tried reassuring him again. But the way Sonic was looking at her, she knew he wasn't going to let it go.

"Yeah, I'll walk you home."

"But-!"

"No buts." He was stern and his face completely serious. He wasn't going to let her walk alone after this situation. "Grab your stuff and let's go." He crossed his arms as the female sighed in defeat. She was stubborn, but the gesture was kind of him, and she did feel a bit more comfortable with the idea of someone watching her and making sure she didn't pass out in a ditch somewhere.

Amy returned to her dressing room and refused the stylist help to remove her sports tape and boom costume. It was going to be slow to do it by herself as her body ached, but she really wasn't in the mood to have someone touching her all over the place. After she was finished, she grabbed her purse and opened the door. Unsurprisingly, Sonic was leaning on the wall across from her, and he quickly jumped up and grabbed her bag. She didn't have the energy to argue, so she followed him as they walked off set.

After a few awkward moments of silence, she heard Sonic cough lightly beside her, and she glanced over to him,

"Want me to carry you while a run?" The azure hedgehog carefully asked, nervousness coming off him in waves. He knew this way he could get her home faster and let her rest more, but it had been a while since they had done that type of thing in their personal life and not on set surrounded by other people.

"No, no." The pink hedgehog shook her head. "I still feel a bit dizzy, and I don't think I'll be able to hold in my guts at your speed." She laughed lightly, trying to lift up the mood and distract him from her current state.

"Oh...You're probably right about that, I didn't think about it." Sonic grinned sheepishly and offered his elbow to her. "Shaw we, then?"

Amy smiled brightly at his gesture and hung her hand on his elbow as they started walking aging. About ten minutes in, the self proclaimed fastest thing alive was already feeling antsy with the slow pace. He wasn't used to _walking_ from place to place. Slowing down wasn't his thing, but felt an odd strength to resist his urge for speed when he glanced down at her pain filled face. The thought of her getting injured further, or having more pain was enough to squash his desire to run. He just wanted to be sure that she got home safe.

On the way they chatted about Sonic's trip and Amy's activities during the last month. Sonic wouldn't admit it, but he felt huge relief and contentment when he didn't hear mention of Shadow being anywhere near her for the whole time.

_Good, he better stay away…_

But, speak of the devil… or rather think about him… and he shall appear.

The navy hedgehog frowned seeing the ebony one. They'd just rounded the corner of her block in time to see Shadow appear with a flash of blue light in front of Amy's apartment complex with a red sweatshirt in his hand.

"Shadow?" Amy spoke up and stared at the male hedgehog who was about to knock on her door. Her voice quickly drew his attention as he turned to face them. The moment he saw his blue rival next to Amy, he narrowed his eyes and a frown curled on his muzzle.

"What are you doing here?" Sonic growled returning the glare as both him and Amy came to a stop near the dark hedgehog.

The rosette sighed. She was not in the mood to hear their bickering right now. She'd a long day, and witnessing yet another hassle between both hedgehogs was going to overwhelm her. Besides, seeing the two males that caused her so much inner turmoil was not helping the pain in her ribs.

Shadow was ready to spit out something demeaning to Sonic, but the moment he noticed Amy's expression he tightened his jaw and swallowed his pride. He turned to her and handed her the red sweater ignoring the blue nuisance next to her.

"I found this in my apartment…" He trailed off for a moment and suddenly his lips curled up in a small smirk. A wicked idea lit up in his mind. "You must've forgotten it the last time _you came over_, and I just noticed it now after coming back from my month long mission."

He could see the blue hedgehog's quills bristle at the mention that she was in _his_ apartment. Shadow's smirk widened, he could practically see how the faker's mind was going into overdrive right now wondering what they had been _doing_ in his house that she'd forgotten an article of clothing.

The thought made the azure hero tense up. Amy and Shadow were not only spending time together, but they were actually even secluding themselves in Shadow's house. Sonic clenched his fists and grit his teeth but his pride prevented him to speak out and interrogate the girl next to him to what _exactly_ were they doing in the faker's home.

"Oh? Thanks Shadow!" Amy on the other hand, didn't notice Sonic's reaction and took the sweatshirt with a smile on her face and she felt a bit relieved to hear that he hadn't reached out before now because he'd been occupied with a mission. _Doesn't change the fact that __**you**_ _were avoiding him_, a voice whispered in her mind, but she ignored it. At this point it was extremely hard for the ebony hedgehog to hide the smugness on his face especially when he saw Sonic's expression. So he felt the need to push it further and he gripped her hand pulling her from Sonic's elbow.

"You're welcome, Rose."

Sonic was practically glaring daggers at Shadow at this point. The only thing stopping him from going up to both of them and yanking her back was his pride and ego. He didn't fully understand why he felt so threatened by their contact. The nasty knots in his stomach were there again, but this time they were accompanied by a burning desire to beat that stupid smirk off Shadow's face.

"Hey, you guys wanna come in for a cup of tea?" She pulled away from the awkward stand off and turned to face both of them.

"I'll pass Ames, I have to get back to the set." Sonic was still glaring at Shadow, who was now glaring back at him. He knew better not to accept that invitation because he could barely hold his anger and he feared he'd do something stupid. And right now he didn't want to upset his female companion. Not after what happened today.

Amy looked at Sonic with a slightly disappointed look on her face. They'd had a pleasant walk together and she found herself wishing they could spend more time together, Plus, he would be a good buffer for the awkwardness she still felt with Shadow from the last time they'd hung out alone. She opened her mouth to argue, but Sonic gave her a dazzling smile and placed his hand on her cheek.

"Give me a call if you don't feel well." He looked at her his face softening and after that he quickly dashed away leaving her with no chance to make him reconsider.

Shadow lifted a brow and glanced back at Amy who sighed with a hint of dejection while unlocking the front gate.

"What did he mean by that? Did anything happen?"

"Oh, nothing to worry about, I just got accidently hit by an eggbot." Amy brushed it away as they entered.

"Accidently?" The hedgehog had a suspicious look in his crimson eyes.

"I decided to take a walk around the testing grounds, but I... kind of got distracted." The rosette looked away in embarrassment and avoided his eyes. The reason behind her 'distractment' being the conflicting emotions in her chest that involved the very hedgehog before her. She expected Shadow to tease her about it but he only nodded keeping his eyes on hers.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine." She nodded again as they entered her apartment.

Unlike Sonic, Shadow decided to join her, he wanted to catch up with her and also make sure that she was feeling well. And as much as he didn't want to admit it, the sweatshirt had just a good excuse to see her today. He wasn't a stranger to how they'd left things a month ago, and even his mission had been an excuse to get away from her and his feelings. It'd been optional and even Rouge had lifted an eyebrow when he'd accepted it. Now that he felt more solid in his emotions and had better control, he wanted to bridge the fractured relationship.

"Have a seat, while I make the drinks." Amy invited him to the balcony where a small, round, white marble table and two white chairs sat in the middle. The view in front of the small terrace was gorgeous. Since the building was near the coast, her balcony faced the ocean.

Shadow sat down as Amy went inside to prepare drinks and snacks. He gazed at the ocean and thought how interesting it must look during sunrise and sunset. _Oh you'd_ _just_ _**love**_ _to wake up here and watch the sunrise with her, wouldn't you? _A small, sneering voice whispered in the back of his head and made a light blush appear on his muzzle. He frowned at his own mind and shook his head violently trying to shoo away the thought before it created more images of his deeper and darker desires.

Luckily, Amy came in time to distract him from his own thoughts. She served him a small porcelain cup filled with black espresso and a tall glass filled with cold homemade lemonade. Shadow's lips curled up ever so slightly into a smile. The fact that Amy remembered his drink preferences made a warm feeling travel to his core. She was always so thoughtful, and never made a big deal about his pickiness when it came to food.

Amy went back inside for a moment to retrieve her glass of ice tea and quickly returned. She took the seat in front of him and smiled.

"So, what have you been up to Shadow?"

The ebony hedgehog took a sip out of the dark bitter liquid and placed the small cup back on the table. His eyes traveled up from his cup to her gazing emerald ones. He couldn't help but feel the nice warm feeling in his stomach return. It wasn't overwhelming, it was actually quite comforting being in her presence.

"I had a month long surveillance mission for G.U.N. I arrived home last night."

Amy mused for a moment her eyes locked onto the cold liquid in front of her. Her fingertips gently tapped on the glass.

"Yeah...I assumed that."

There was a brief silence between both hedgehogs. Shadow started studying the female in front of him.

What was she always thinking about? What was causing that small worry line to form between her brows?

_Is she thinking about that faker? _A frown appeared on his muzzle as his intense crimson eyes pierced her distracted emerald ones. Sonic probably played hero again when she got knocked out. His jaw tightened.

Suddenly emerald met crimson when Amy looked up at him. His stare made the fur on her body prickle. It was crawling into her very core. The dark hedgehog had a tendency to glare. It wasn't something new to Amy. But the way he glowering at her now made her feel utterly uncomfortable. As if she had done something very wrong. She could see anger and disappointment. It wasn't obvious, all these emotions were hidden away by a mask of intensity and a usual grimace, but Amy could see them clearly. She'd developed the skill to read his true thoughts beneath the stoic veil he covered himself with.

The pink hedgehog bit ever so slightly on her lower lip and fidgeted uncomfortably in her seat. She felt like she was being interrogated without him even asking any questions. She didn't really know why or what had triggered his reaction but a small part of her had a theory. It was Sonic. And the fact that _he_ walked her home. _Not run, but walked_.

Suddenly she felt the need to explain herself and the words started falling out of her mouth before she knew it.

"About earlier, Sonic just wanted to be a good friend and help me out. He wanted to dash me over to here but I preferred walking because I felt nauseous." She laughed nervously and immediately mentally slapped herself. What the hell was she saying? Why was she explaining herself as if Shadow had caught her red-handed in a crime scene?

Shadow's stare suddenly turned into a confused look. _Where did that come from?_ He stared at the now blushing embarrassed female and a mischievous smirk curled around his lips. He'd provoked her, just by staring at her. And what was that blush all about?

"I'm not worried about that faker, Rose." His voice rang smooth with the signature deep husk in some tones. Amy glanced up again at him and the way he smirked at her made her blush deepen.

_Damn this hedgehog… He's doing it again..._

"You and I both know who the better hedgehog is." He leaned on the palm of his hand staring half lidded, eyes full of smugness and flirt. This earned him a steady eye roll and a "hmpt" from the girl but her blush remained.

_At Least he's not glaring at me anymore…_

A small smile curled on her lips.

"Yeah, that hedgehog being me. You have a month to make up for, by the way, and I know just the thing you can do for me." She grinned widely with a hint of mischievousness. There was no way Shadow would agree to her plan, and this was a good way to distract him from his teaseful flirting.

Shadow crossed his arms smirking.

"You know I will, Rose."

Amy clasped her arms together contently still grinning.

"Great! So tomorrow we're going to the mall."

Shadow's smirk dropped. Oh now he got it. She wanted to torture him.

"No." He responded flatly and leaned back in his seat.

"Aw, c'mon, Shadow! You promised!" The rosette whined and stared at the male with a disappointed pout. _God he's so predictable._

"No, I am not taking you to the mall, I have a better idea." The signature smirk returned to his lips. The look he gave made the pink hedgehog feel uneasy.

"Oh? And what could be better than the 'Ultimate Lifeform' taking me to the mall?" It was Amy's turn to cross her arms and stare at the male bemused. _He's up to something..._

"I'm going to take you out," He leaned on the table, shortening the distance between them, "on a _**real**_ date."

That brought everything to a standstill. Amy's eyes widened. Did he just say what she thought she heard him say? A 'real date'? Not a hangout, not a 'not a date, date'. A _real date._

"Stop messing around, Shadow." She frowned at him. The statement made her feel _confused_.

His stare was serious, and the air between them was electric. But the longer the silence lasted, the more Shadow regretted asking, and he quickly chuckled and shook his head. She wasn't ready...

"Fine, fine, I'll stop."

Amy gave him a glare. The sickening feeling from the morning returned, and she felt like she was going to go crazy. This had to stop. She liked Sonic, and this flirtatious game she played with Shadow was making her second guess everything. She wouldn't allow a person who had no interest in romance or dating to sway her away from her true love.

"Hey, the 'date' joke is getting kinda old, don't you think? Let's stop calling our hangouts dates."

Shadow felt his stomach clench. He'd gone too far, he'd pushed it too soon, and he could see her pulling away from him quicker then a hedgehog could run. He covered his true reaction with a smirk and a scoff.

"Meh, it was getting boring anyway."

He watched as her face relaxed with relief, and he felt as though he'd been stabbed with a Chaos Spear. Did she really hate the idea of dating him that much? And now because he had pushed too much, they couldn't even joke about it anymore. He'd taken two steps back by trying to take a step forward.

_Damn...You messed up __big this time_…


	4. Episode 4: Tainted Night

**A/N**

**Hello my beautiful readers! First of all i would like to give a shout out to all the people who took the time to review my story! This was first started by my friend Nothin'Fancy and I think it's a great way to show our gratitude to you guys!**

_**Thanks to: The Guest who I reverted from SonAmy to ShadAmy LOL, **_

_**to Angel-kohai, and also to pinksakura271, in answer to your question about Sticks, I might add her in a bit later, personally I have nothing against Sticks, I'm just not experienced to write such a conspiracy driven character, and she's not really a big influence in my story anyway. **_

**And last but not least a HUGE thanks to my AMAZING Beta Nothin'Fancy who helps me so much with this story and influences it towards the better! Like always, go check her out, she recently updated both of her ShadAmy stories. And a small shameless plug, I am also one of her Betas for Team Dark's Rose.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and like always, don't be shy to leave reviews, they keep me writing and give me a good perspective to what my readers think of my story!**

* * *

**Episode 4: Tainted Night**

A deep sigh escaped the dark anti hero's lips, his ebony eyelids half closed in a mid eye roll. A handful of bags hung over his forearms as he followed the rosy hedgehog all around the mall.

Amy Rose had not been kidding yesterday about shopping. She'd dragged him back and forth through the large building, entering shops that were usually decorated in pastels and neons. He'd sat on the outside of fitting rooms among other male prisoners and was subjected to round after round of outfits and shoes torture. She always asked him what he thought, but he'd quickly found out she wasn't looking for a honest answer. So instead he would make unintelligible grunts and scoffs, allowing her to come to her own conclusions on what she wanted.

His eyes shut, and he tapped his foot irately as Amy stopped in front of _another_ shoe store, staring intently at a pair of red sparkly heels. Shadow felt a sharp migraine begin to form in the corner of his temple, and he was just about ready to dump her insane amount of purchases on the ground and stomp his way out of there.

"Oh! Let's go in this store! They have amazing shoes in here!" Amy beamed cheerfully as she skipped towards entrance of the store but a firm hand pulled her back.

"_Rose_..." The ebony hedgehog growled at the female practically yanking her back towards him. The pull made Amy stumble back and she lost her footing, crushing her back against his lean chest.

She turned her face towards his, the lack of distance between them made her muzzle turn into a light shade of pink almost matching her fur.

Her reaction didn't go unnoticed. There it was again, the look she sometimes had with him, it was a look that screamed attraction, and was a small opportunity to show her how he felt. He smirked to cover his nervousness, but it was now or never. If he was going to snap her out of her 'crush' on Sonic, then he'd have to show her what a real male was like. He leaned in, his smirk wavering slightly as he approached her trembling lips.

"S-shadow…" She whispered her emerald eyes darted between his half lidded eyes, and the smirking lips that were getting closer and closer. She felt a thrill run up her spine, and suddenly that warm feeling returned with with a vengeance.

_This is it...Your first kiss…_ Her mind started swirling all over the place. The way Shadow made her feel, she wanted the kiss. She yearned for it, her lips ached for his yet something in the back of her mind screamed 'STOP!'.

Her eyes snapped open from the sudden realization. Shadow could never be romantically involved with her. She wasn't even sure if he was capable of feeling something more towards her. He was just toying with her. She couldn't deny anymore that there wasn't some animalistic attraction between them, but that was exactly the issue. There was nothing more, nothing deeper than the shallow lust that any male had for any female Mobian. Shadow wasn't Sonic, and Sonic was the only person who she could see entering a real relationship with. She didn't even know if she could see herself with anyone else.

Shadow immediately recognized the look of confusion and repulsion taking form in her eyes. Her whole demeanor had shifted, her body had stiffened, and her gaze was looking anywhere but him, but the worst was the way she was leaning her face away from him. He cursed under his breath and let her go before she could officially reject him.

"I've had enough shopping for the day." He cleared his throat and fixed his stance to his default cross armed stance.

Amy blinked in confusion and sighed looking away. She was glad that Shadow broke the kiss before it even happened. At least he had some boundaries. But a small part of her felt disappointed. His musky scent still lingered around her from the earlier closeness. It made her fur and quills bristle. The girl took a breath to compose herself and nodded.

"Uh, y-yeah...Let's go back."

* * *

It was already getting late. The sun had set painting the sky in beautiful magenta and orange hues were merging into the dark purples and blacks of night. The moon was rising to its peak as the brightest stars started to appear.

Shadow felt extremely uneasy at the way he and Amy had had left things off earlier. He wanted to take her out of their normal setting and dynamic, maybe if they were alone and not joking around, she would feel open to hearing him out. So instead of dropping her off back at her apartment and going home, he suggested they take a nightcap walk on the beach in the backyard of her complex.

Both hedgehogs strolled along the coast, light waves neared and drifted away from the sand near them. The most of the walk was silent, from the occasional small talk that Amy tried to pick up but failed miserably when Shadow either replied with a 'yes' or 'no' gesture. She couldn't help but wonder what had happened to them? They used to hold long, and deep conversations easily for hours on end. Now she couldn't even make simple small talk with him. It was as if they were back at square one.

The rosette starred at the dark ocean not having given up entirely on trying to break the awkwardness in the air. She started to think about every little thing that had transpired today and the day before trying to find clues between the lines. She could never figure out what he was thinking. She could read his surface emotions, but she could never figure out if what he displayed reflected his true thoughts and opinions. He was a mystery that she constantly got lost in and was obsessed with solving. His darkness was pulling her in. He enticed her.

The worst part was the fact she could no longer deny the attraction she felt for him. She recognized that she enjoyed every tease he made, every touch they shared but she knew better. Shadow would never fall for her. _Just like Sonic…_

Both hedgehogs just loved to play with her emotions. She didn't want to make the same mistake with Shadow. She didn't want to give her heart away again only to be met by a friendzone. Besides, she still wasn't sure of her actual emotions, as Sonic still held a large part of her heart, and she couldn't figure out which male would be able to fill her completely. And she doubted she ever would… neither one of them the slightest interested in helping her find out. Chaos, was she doomed to die an old maid?

"Rose…"

His soft husky voice broke her out of thought.

She always loved the way his voice sounded. The calmness in his tone, the way he pronounced her nickname. Amy looked up at him and was met by those melting crimson eyes. This was one of those rare times where his gaze was softened, and his emotions were exposed. She could see...regret?

"Rose, I…" He didn't look away. He kept his gaze locked onto hers. He kept his emotions exposed and unhidden by an unreadable brooding mask. She couldn't look away. She was trapped in those crimson pools like a moth attracted to a flame. She didn't even want to blink. She didn't want to miss a split second, otherwise she would think she was imagining it.

"What…?" Her voice was softer and quieter than usual. It felt like time had stopped between them, and her heart was beating slowly but hard in her chest like the thumping of a war drum.

Shadow couldn't delay this any longer. At the pace he was going, he was sure to cause Amy to drift away from him with his mindless teasing flirts. He could see her feeling uncomfortable, and each time he casually brought the subject up, her reactions were more and more distant. He could feel how he was crossing boundaries that she didn't want to let down. The cracks he had made in her walls were repairing themselves. He didn't want to lose her. He _needed_ her.

_No more denial._

"I have to tell you something…"

Her large bright eyes stared cut into his very soul, and caused the words to feel thick in his throat. They looked at him with deep curiosity, and his heart skipped a beat like a schoolgirl. _Dammit, get your shit together!_

"I… - " He started but was suddenly cut off by a deep feminine voice.

"Oh, Shadooooe~!"

An albino bat flew down and landed swiftly next to him. Both hedgehogs suddenly tensed from her appearance.

"Rouge?" Shadow broke his glance away from Amy and directed it questioningly at the bat next to him.

"Fancy meeting you here, _handsome_." Rouge practically purred out as she leaned on his shoulder. The ebony hedgehog stiffened from the closeness and growled slightly. He couldn't react. His body was trapped in shock from the sudden shift of situation. Suddenly, anger overcome his senses. He was finally ready to express himself to _her_, and Rouge was ruining it all.

"I was looking all over the place for you!" She pointed a gloved finger at his chest fur as it traveled down to his abdomen.

"What are you doing here, Rouge?" The dark hedgehog snapped at her, moving away to the side, his eyes narrowing in annoyance and fists clenching to his sides.

"Just checking up on my favorite hedgehog!" She smirked her voice low and sultry. Her glass blue eyes skimmed over to the frozen female hedgehog next to him. "And to provide you with _better_ company, seeing how dull the mood is around you two."

Amy furrowed her eyebrows watching the scene in front of her. She felt anger boil down her very core. Who did she think she is?! Cuddling up like that to Shadow...But…

A small dark voice in the back of her head, which she constantly pushed away everytime Rouge was around, broke through her better judgement.

_Maybe he doesn't mind it that much...He didn't pull away immediately, __and her actions are smooth and comfortable, as though they touch like this all the time_… _And I wouldn't blame him… Look at her, she's stunning… Compared to me…_

Suddenly the anger in her eyes was replaced by hurt. Their usual shine dulled out as her gaze dropped to the ground. Her thought traveled down to a rare path for her. She'd always felt confident with her looks. But suddenly she felt like she was so average and dull compared to the gorgeous bat next to the dark hedgehog. They looked like a model couple, one you'd see walking down a red carpet, as people gawked at their beauty.

Not to mention the unknown past the two shared. She was closer to him, they've spent countless missions working flawlessly together. Not to mention that there was a time when they even lived together along with Omega. Amy couldn't even bring herself to think what could've happened between them during that period…

Shadow glared at the white harpie. He knew very well what she was doing. And right now her 'push' towards the pink hedgehog was about to sabotage everything.

"Go home, Rouge." He growled lowly at her but before she could respond the rosette next to him spoke up.

"No," Amy shook her head and stepped back from them, "stay, Rouge. I'm not much of company anyway...I feel tired, I'm going back home...You guys enjoy the night." She spoke softly with an uncharacteristic monotone voice while looking away from them.

"Rose -" Shadow's eyes widened but suddenly his G.U.N. watch rang. He cursed under his breath. _Not right now!_

Rouge's watch also rang as she glanced at it.

"Looks like we have an urgent mission, hon." She glanced up at Amy who was already walking away. _Damn it!_ This was not going how she had planned. The girl had gotten bit too intimidated by her than she expected.

Rouge had been casually flying around town when she spotted both hedgehogs near the fancy apartment complex. Her ears twitched around trying to capture what both of them were saying but the wind made it difficult for her to differentiate their words. The moment she saw Shadow's face change into a slightly panicked look, she knew she had to interfere and set her plan into motion.

However, now she feared she had made a terrible mistake. Amy wasn't responding with a jealous anger like she'd expected, instead the girl looked like she accepted their - fake - relationship and was stepping down. Then she wondered if the girl even liked Shadow to begin with, and worry set in her heart for her partner, and what seemed like his unrequited love.

"Amy!" Shadow yelled after her but Rouge put her hand on his shoulder.

"Let her leave, she'll be alright, I guarantee you she'll be running into your arms tomorrow..." She tried to assure him but in reality she was trying to assure herself also. Rouge couldn't let herself think that she possibly just made things worse.

The dark hedgehog gritted his teeth furiously, his sharp canines showing. Now he was beyond pissed.

"What the hell did you just do!?" He snapped at her, his crimson eyes glowing darkly.

"I just helped you by giving her a little nudge in the right direction!" She pulled her hand away her brows narrowing down. A bead of sweat traveled down her forehead.

"By pushing her away?!"

Rouge shook her head trying to calm herself down.

"You'll see! She'll come to her senses! Now, c'mon! We have a mission to do!"

Shadow growled furiously clenching his head with his hands. He didn't have time to deal with this right now.

* * *

Amy had left the beach to walk back to her apartment, but couldn't seem to bring herself to enter once she'd arrived, so she'd just kept walking. She allowed herself to fall into a blank minded state while crossing the dimly lit streets. It was a really peaceful night, the only occasional disturbance was passing vehicles from time to time. The female hedgehog closed her eyes for a moment enjoying how a glint of cool air softly graced her face, and swayed her quills back.

She adored these summer nights. She could hear the sound of crickets all around, and the weather was so warm and pleasant with the occasional cool breeze passing by. These midnight strolls helped her calm down and clear her head. She just found she could think better in the open, rather than inside closed walls.

As she was walking, colorful blinking suddenly caught her attention. Her boots came to a halt as the pink female turned to the side to face the lights. In front of her, there was a hude shop window, with dark frames, and behind the glass, there was a big flat screen TV on display that was playing a commercial to show off the great definition that the TV's screen emitted. The hedgehog found herself staring at the commercial.

There were two mobians on it, an onyx male wolf and a creamish-pink female wolf. The male was holding the female by her waist, while she placed her hands on his chest. He was saying something to her, but Amy couldn't tell what because the TV was on mute. The line had made the female stare at the wolf with a loving gaze and parted lips. He then placed a hand on her cheek and gently brushed a strand of hair her face.

Suddenly the female hedgehog started replacing the wolfs with hedgehogs. One black, with crimson stripes on his quills, arms and legs, and a fluffy white patch of fur on his chest. The rosette sighed at it with a daydreaming tone when the hedgehog gently caressed now the pink hedgehog's cheek and slowly closed the gap between their lips.

_No_… what was she even _thinking_? She was once again fooling herself with a fantasy that would never come true. Tonight was proof enough for her.

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a roaring car engine that passed throught the street. Amy shook her head and blinked a couple of times, not noticing how the car suddenly stopped a few meters ahead.

"Ames…?" She heard a very familiar boyish voice behind her. She snapped her gaze from the TV and turned around.

"Sonic…?" The pink hedgehog watched the blue one with confusion. He was wearing a brown leather jacket, a shade or two lighter than his scarf. He was holding a shiny navy car key with a tiny screen on it.

"What are you doing here so late, and all alone?" He crossed his arms in disapproval, but his voice and eyes gave away his concern.

"I was just walking back home from… the beach." She stared at him not really giving any other emotion than pure confusion. She really didn't expect to meet anyone else tonight.

A deep frown formed on the hedgehog's mouth as his brows furrowed down.

"Why are you alone after getting injured yesterday? You Should've called me and we could've gone together."

As much as Sonic would rather be zooming through the streets in his decked out car, he deeply cared for Amy's well-being and found he no longer cared for his own plans.

"I'm not a child, Sonic. I can handle myself."

It was Amy's turn to frown and fold her arms. His demand just poured more salt in her wound. Who did he think he is? What right did he have to treat her like a weak damsel in distress? She was getting really tired to be bossed around by the male two hedgehogs.

Sonic stared at his female friend but his frown had softened. He didn't mean to make her angry, he just wanted to be sure she was safe. It wasn't that he didn't trust her. He did, he just didn't trust the drunk fools that might be roaming at this hour. Sure, Amy could handle herself pretty well, but he didn't want to see her in any harm's way.

"I know you're not, Ames…" He sighed and looked away at the ground. His voice was low and gave out the concern he felt. At this, Amy softened her glare at her former hero.

"Just...Can I give you a ride home…? I know you can handle yourself, but I won't forgive myself if I leave you out here and something happens to you…" He averted his gaze back to her jade eyes. The way he looked at her, it was so sincere. She could even see the pleading in his deep jade eyes.

The young female bit her bottom lip. She didn't want the blue hero to worry about her. She didn't want to hurt his feelings. With a final sigh she nodded her head slightly. Today was a long enough day and right now she just wanted to go home and bury herself in her covers.

"Alright Sonic, take me home."

This made the blue hedgehog smile. It wasn't an arrogant self-assured smile. It was just a soft one, with a hint of relief, and it sent her heart soaring.

Sonic made his way to the shiny, dark navy-blue, sports car that was parked a couple of feet ahead. Amy blinked a couple of times and she followed along.

"You drive a car?"

The male hedgehog grinned at the remark.

"Guess all these cart races rubbed off on me. Hop in."

He lifted his hand towards the car and pushed the screen on the remote key he was still holding. The vehicle beeped once and its blinkers flashed a couple of times. At the same time, the two massive doors of the coupe, slowly opened upwards giving both hedgehogs access inside.

Amy begrudgingly had to admit, the car looked stunning and expensive. Every line of the exterior was smooth and curved into sexy shapes for better aerodynamics. Its paint job was so shiny that everything reflected on the dark blue surface, making a collage of colorful lights like a nebula in space. She knew that Sonic liked experimenting with all kinds of new vehicles but she didn't expect him to go for such a car. Nonetheless, it suited the speedster.

Once both of them got in the car, Sonic pushed a button near the gearbox, and both doors lowered themselves to a closing. The interior of the car wasn't any less impressive. Red leather seats - in the same shade as his sneakers - with white stitching and logo of the silhouette of the blue hedgehog's quills on the headpiece. Everything was definitely custom made.

Sonic placed the key in the ignition and pushed the Start button. The engine growled loudly like a lion, while the dashboard and the headlights lit up. There was a big touch screen above the gearbox that also came to life in a dulled light and read "Welcome, Sonic."

_Ah...can it get more vain than this?_ She thought with a slight giggle. This was _so_ Sonic.

Amy adjusted her seatbelt and sat back to the comfortable seat. At this point Sonic drove off revving the engine. Amy leaned on her hand and gazed from the passenger window at the quickly passing city lights. A mild tune was playing in the background. She recognized the song. It was nice and mellow and it made her relax even more into her seat. The ride was quiet and wasn't awkward. It was actually a very comfortable type of silence.

As Amy stared out the window, Sonic stole a couple of glances at her while driving. At one point he saw the female hedgehog doze off. The sight made him smile. He unconsciously relaxed the pressure his foot gave the gas pedal, causing the car to slow down to the actual speed limit (something he never did) and its engine purred from the unfamiliar rate of speed. He wanted to enjoy this moment a bit longer.

In what seemed forever, but in reality took a couple of minutes, the ride was over. After he parked the car, Sonic killed the engine and glanced back at the resting pink hedgehog next to him. She was fully asleep now.

The blue hedgehog chuckled quietly and got out of the car. He walked quietly to her side and knelt down beside her. Carefully, he scooped her up from her seat in bridal style and pushed the screen on the key to close the doors. As he walked towards her apartment, the hedgehog felt her small head lean onto his chest for support. He looked down at her while stopping in front of her apartment door. She looked so innocent and sweet in her sleep.

Sonic caught himself starring and shook his head a bit. He adjusted her weight in his left hand so he could search for her keys with his other hand. He prayed that they were in one of her pockets, so he wouldn't have to wake her up. Luckily for him, he felt the cold metal in her right pocket. He reached and grabbed the keys, taking them out. Readjusting her position again, with one hand on her back, and a knee bent up in the air to support her bottom, he pushed the key inside the lock and opened the door as silently as possible. Thankfully there was only a soft _click_ as the gears unlocked.

The speedster sighed in relief and put his free hand under her knees and let his leg drop on the ground. He entered her apartment and pushed the light switch with his elbow. Taking a second so his eyes could adjust to the sudden light, he looked around at his surroundings. The apartment was actually pretty nice. The kitchen and living area were decently big and the style of the home was retro, with a hint of modern. The place was tidy and a nice fruity aroma greeted him. Her apartment smelled the same way she did.

He walked through the living area and entered a hallway. He looked around and saw 3 doors. When he and the rest of the gang went to her house they usually only stayed in the living room. So he wasn't really sure which door was for her bedroom. But he knew that the middle one was the bathroom, so that left either the door to the right or the opposite one.

Sonic walked over to the door to the right and was content to see the big white bed covered with a baby pink furred blanket. He entered the room and carefully set the pink hedgehog on the soft bed. He was relieved that she was a heavy sleeper. He took off her boots and gently pulled the covers over her. He stared at her for a moment. He'd never really cared to take the time to notice her soft features before, and now he found he couldn't tear his gaze away. Suddenly, on a whim, he placed a hand over her cheek and stroked it, pushing a couple of quills away.

The azure hedgehog flinched when he saw movement on her face. Her eyes trembled for a moment and her expression changed.

That was his que. He should be going, but his legs stayed glued to his place.

_No more running._

In mere seconds Amy had opened her eyes groggily but could see only a flash of blue blur for a split second, before her vision fully adjusted.

"Sonic..?" Her voice was raspy as her eyes blinked a couple of times locking themselves to his jade ones. She finally registered the warm hand that was lingering on her face.

Amy's eyes widened as she expected her realization to quickly make the azure hero retract his hand. But he didn't.

"Hey Ames…" His voice was huskier than normal and she felt her chest squeeze, this was out of character for him. The way he was tenderly touching her, and the look in his eyes… she tried to sit up, but his grip tightened a bit,

"Will you hear me out for a bit…"

Sonic's tone was hushed as he leaned his forehead gently onto hers. His lids slowly dropped until his eyes closed, while her curious emerald ones skimmed through his expression slightly alarmed from the sudden gesture. But the feeling was coaxed away by the soothing strokes his thumb made on her cheek. A momentary silence settled around them until he finally broke it.

"I... I thought I lost you for a moment yesterday…"

"Oh Sonic…" Amy couldn't help but feel her eyes burn with tears of guilt and sympathy. Her hand traveled up his face and brushed his quills gently in an attempt to calm him down and not interrupt him.

"Yesterday made me realize...That I don't know what I would do if I ever lost you… If I'm not there to _protect you_… you could be gone, from a simple accident. Just one little thing could go wrong, and you'd be..." His eyes slowly opened into a half lidded state and locked themselves onto hers once again.

She could see multiple emotions pouring out of them. Care, kindness, worry, hurt… And an emotion that she had never seen in his eyes before. One she recognized but couldn't believe would ever populate his face.

Her heart was racing so fast by this point it was ready to burst from her chest. Her mind was overthinking the situation so much, that it was practically blank. Anticipation, excitement and anxiety crawled into her very existence. Was this really what she had been waiting to hear for 10 long years?

"It made me realize… I _don't_ have all the time in the world… I can't keep running from this, because we don't have forever. I'm not going to waste anymore time." His voice turned into a soft whisper towards the end of his sentence. His thumb brushed lightly over her lower lip as his eyes lowered longingly towards the same direction.

"W-What are you…" Amy's mouth could barely form words at this point. A light shade of pink covered the top of her muzzle as her eyes stayed hypnotised onto his.

"I'm not a kid anymore, and I should stop acting like one."

Sonic sighed as he removed his hand from her lips and placed it on the back of her head expertly between her quills. The movement made the female hedgehog shudder. It was so pleasant and yet so foreign.

The blue hedgehog took a deep breath and closed his eyes once again for a moment, gathering up all the courage he had for this next part. After a moment he felt the nervousness exit his body completely. He was finally ready.

"I-I like you…" He paused for a moment but his eyebrows suddenly furrowed down. "Not just as friends, but - well I… have… _deeper_ feelings for you, Ames. And if you still feel the same… I'd like to give _us_ a try."

At this point his eyes skimmed back and forth through hers anxiously waiting for her reaction. Hoping she would reciprocate, that he wasn't too late.

Amy stared at him in shock. Her pupils were dilated and her eyes wide. His whole body was rejecting the situation, and he wanted to dash from the room. That look was not what he'd been expecting after wearing his heart on his sleeve for her, but then she blinked, and her mouth gaped open comically.

"Am I… am I dreaming? Are you... joking?"

Sonic gulped, and gave her a nervous grin, "No Ames, I'm _dead_ serious… so what do you say?"

Amy heard a ringing in her ears, she couldn't believe this was happening. He wasn't joking... She tried to get a handle on all the swirling emotions within her, and then suddenly a calmness entered her as she came to her decision. She took a deep breath and opened her mouth hesitantly,

"I…"


	5. Episode 5: Breaking and Repairing Ties

**A/N**

**Hello my lovely readers! Sorry for the long wait! I've been struggling a bit with this chapter to lay out my ideas in a cohesive matter, and I did hit a minor road block but don't worry, I'm back at it again! And I am also done with my next chapter, it just needs to be edited so the next release will be much sooner!**

**Also, I just saw the trailer to the new Sonic game, Sonic Team Racing, and boy am I excited! I actually kind of nailed the design of Sonic's car without knowing that it will be portrayed like that in the game LOL.**

**As always, I'd like to thank my amazing Beta, Nothin'Fancy, who is my all time inspiration and gives me so much support and help with my story!**

**And of course, thank you to all of my reviewers: Abril378, ROCKCHIC179, Missy the Cat, Angel-kohai (thank you for reviewing yet again!) and Amefloza13 (I had to google translate your review LOL, but thank you!)**

**A reply to ****Birds of Prey: I see what you mean, I'm actually planning on writing such a story when I finish Scripted Romance. It will probably be a oneshot, but the idea of a polygamous relationship between those three is juicy! For now I'm keeping it ShadAmy with SonAmy drama, I'm a sucker for the love triangle types of relationships.**

**A reply to pinksakura271: Honestly, your reviews make my day, and I die when you call sonic the blue speed bump! Love it! Thank you for reviewing again!**

**Anyways, enjoy!**

* * *

**Episode 5: Breaking and Repairing Ties**

Shadow threaded through the maze of city streets, the roar of his bike filling the space around him as it was the loudest sound that disturbed the quiet night. The shiny black paint job reflected the flashing lights as he entered one of the tunnels. The engine growled even louder as the sound bounced back from the echoing tunnel walls. His quills swept back and forth from the wind, his crimson eyes were narrowed and glued onto the road but his mind roamed in an entirely different direction.

_Rose..._

His muzzle turned into a sneer, exposing his sharp canines as his hands turned the bike's handle further down making the vehicle roar even louder from increasing speed. How could this night take a turn for the worst in just a brief couple moments? How could Rouge's stupidly naive intention to help him manage to sabotage him even worse than before? The bat had the worst timing possible, and he was not intending to forgive her any time soon. He had warned her. No, he'd blatantly told her not to get involved, but when did the bat ever listen to him anyway?

This made the hedgehog's blood boil. He knew that the bat in her own skewed sense of friendship thought she was helping him out, but that didn't stop him from enacting a little punishment on the albino witch. He glanced up at the shadowy figure above him who struggled to keep up with his speed. This made him smirk smugly. There was no harm in pushing the female to her limits. It was petty of him, but no one ever accused him of being considerate.

"Shadow…!" The bat whined lowering herself to the hedgehog, her wings now making frantic small flaps in an attempt to catch up to him.

"Stop being so pissy, I get it! Now slow down before I turn this mission into a solo one!" She growled angrily at the hedgehog.

"Good, I don't need you anyway, you're only going to get in my way." He answered coldly, his sharp eyes never leaving the road before him..

Rouge gasped in outrage, and stopped suddenly, her wings too strained to keep up with a vehicle at this altitude. A small part of her hoped that Shadow would stop, and let her take a breath in order to catch up, but the cold hearted hedgehog merely blasted past her, leaving her to choke on the dust his wheels kicked up into the air.

She blinked a couple of times taking in the initial shock. For all the years that she had been working alongside the Ultimate Lifeform, he never acted _this _callous towards her. Yes, they argued and bickered, he constantly questioned her orders but he always acknowledged her skills and her contribution to the team.

The remark didn't sting, Rouge knew very well what she was capable of and she knew how much of an important asset she was to the team and to G.U.N. No, what struck her was that Shadow was angry enough to actually leave her behind. No matter what was going on in their relationship, he had always been able to compartmentalize it for the sake of the mission. Tonight however, he was clearly unable to do so.

_Damn, he must really have feelings for Amy…_

Rouge cursed this night and Shadow's inability to see that she had just helped his cause. If he truly liked Amy, then she was positive that her little push tonight was going to cause the pink girl to stumble into his arms. She sighed as she looked at the spot where he'd disappeared, and decided it would be best to let him cool off alone. Besides, she'd seen the description of the mission and knew he could probably solo it without difficulty.

The bat snapped her wings outward and braced on the ground before shooting up into the night sky, enjoying the rush of coolness through her fur and hair. She floated above the city a moment, before deciding to head to her bar. It was as good a place as any to kill time, which she now had plenty of.

* * *

Shadow revved his bike, pushing the machine to its limit as he exited the highway and made his way onto a narrow mountain road. He swerved around the corners, not even slowing down for each sharp turn. His body swiftly leaned left to right, blending his movements perfectly with his vehicle as it hugged every oval curve.

The only lighting in this area was the rising full moon and the single headlight on his motorbike that had a black taped 'X' plastered onto it. For a normal mobian the vision would be very limited and dim, but the Ultimate Lifeform was no ordinary mobian.

His crimson eyes adjusted quickly to the darkness, his pupils dilated allowing him to see every little detail around his surroundings. His sharp eyes could capture the movement of a falling leaf.

In about an hour, he stopped his bike near a cliff. The hedgehog got off the vehicle and stood on the edge, his eyes scanning the view below him.

Underneath him was a steep hill filled mostly with pine trees. His ruby orbs flicked left to right until his gaze landed onto the thing he was looking for.

"Found you."

He took a couple of steps back and lowered his body into a half crouching position. In a swift move he kicked off gliding his hover shoes until he reached the edge. He dove head first towards the ground, his hover shoes giving him an extra boost. Once he was closing in to the top of the pine trees, he flipped his body resulting him to hover above the trees from the boost that his shoes gave him. He slowly hovered down to the ground and quickly began gliding through the trees towards his destination. A red streak emitted from his body from the fast movement, making him a mere red blur.

Once he reached his destination he stopped and disappeared into a flash of blue light and reappeared on a tree branch a good 20 feet in the air. He crouched and narrowed his eyes. His ears flickered, capturing every motion around him. The way the wind lightly bristled the tree's needles and the leafs of the nearby shrubberies, the crickets chirping in the night. He could even hear his own blood rushing through the veins in his temple.

He glanced at his touch watch and ran a finger on it. The screen lit up with information about the mission.

'_Type: Recon_

_Rank: C_

_Destination: Decommissioned Eggman Base South of Metropolis_

_Note: Spotted movement in the base.'_

Shadow frowned and lowered his wrist. It wasn't his type of mission. He was above such simple recons. But lately he took every mission possible just to escape his current situation. All these troubled thoughts and feelings that he had were messing with his head. After all, the Ultimate Lifeform was not designed to feel such deep emotions. Or rather, such _positive_ emotions.

He was used to anger, hatred and bloodlust. He also had a glimpse for a feeling of sibling friendship, but since his memory was wiped out after the ARK, it was only an indiscript blip.

However, now his soul had been exposed to deeper feelings. He couldn't remember a time when he'd actually _cared_ about another like he did when Amy filled his mind. Yes, he had a long career alongside Rouge and Omega, but he never had much concern for their well being. Omega could always be fixed if broken, and Rouge? She'd never really let herself get seriously hurt. The bat was cunning and smart, she knew when to stay out of the headlights of the battlefield. While Amy…

The girl was reckless. She would constantly overthrow her safety in order to help or save someone else. She never put herself above others. She was selfless and often careless of her own well being.

And this irked Shadow to the very core. How could someone ignore their own self-preservation instincts?

He grunted and rubbed his temples.

'_Concentrate...' _

Shadow rose up from his crouching position and disappeared in a flash.

The brooding hedgehog reappeared inside the base. It was dark, pitch black, and even the Ultimate Lifeform struggled to see anything in that darkness. Without any light source he wasn't able to see _that_ well.

He tapped twice onto the watch's screen, which resulted in a small flashlight to turn on. This provided him with enough illumination to make out his surroundings. He rose his arm up and lit up the environment around him.

There were many scattered robot parts, covered in layers of dust. He took a couple of steps and lowered his flashlight onto the floor. He narrowed his eyes and crouched down on one knee. Since the dust was so thick, any tracks could be easily spotted. And Shadow knew perfectly well that the ones carved in front of him were not his own. They were twice as big as his and were parted roughly in the middle.

"It might not be such a boring mission after all…" The hedgehog smirked and stood up.

He followed the tracks further into the base until they suddenly stopped. The hedgehog furrowed his eyebrows and frowned. He looked around the room, there were even more piles of scrap metal and busted up machinery until suddenly something caught his eyes.

There were two small glowing red orbs that were at least a head taller than him at the opposite side of the room.

Shadow quickly pointed his flashlight towards the glowing orbs but all of a sudden was smashed against the wall behind him. He felt something cold and heavy push him crushingly.

Shadow grunted and teleported out of the mechanic grasp and reappeared behind it, giving it a quick shove with the side of his body before quickly disappearing and reappearing in front of it to welcome its stumbling body with a powerful kick, sending it flying back. He heard the metal screech onto the floor.

The hedgehog lifted his arm up again to light up the culprit but the moment the flashlight hit its target, Shadow could see a huge bazooka type of gun pointed right at him which immediately fired a shower of bullets.

"Shit!" The hedgehog grunted disappearing out of the way and reappearing several feet to the right but the shooting quickly shifted its direction towards him again. Thankfully his skin was bulletproof. His watch, not so much.

The only light source he had was gone, so he had to rely on his other senses, and the yellow glow when the bullets left their chamber. After a good 5 minutes of teleporting in either direction to avoid the bullets - he may be bulletproof, but that didn't mean that the sheer force that the bullets hit him with didn't hurt like hell - his welcomer stopped shooting.

"Scanning complete. Identifying: Shadow the Hedgehog. Known weaknesses: None."

Shadow's eyes went wide. He knew all too well the artificial voice that spoke, but he hadn't heard it in two years...Not since G.U.N. had decided to decommission the robot due to it not serving a purpose anymore with Eggman gone.

"Last known affinity to Omega: Fellow member of Team Dark. Calculating… Not a threat." The robot lowered his weaponized arm and Shadow turned the headlight on his metal interior, the greek symbols on his shoulder were a bit faded, but still recognizable.

"Omega… How are you still active?" Shadow blinked a couple of times, his pupils shrinking from the sudden light.

Omega stared at the dark hedgehog who was cautiously approaching him

"Last known memory files are corrupt. Omega has been active for 2 weeks, 21 hours and 34 seconds."

Shadow frowned and put his hand on the robot's metal frame

"I've missed you old friend." He looked up at the robot's blank glassy orbs. If Shadow reported back to G.U.N. about Omega's sudden revival they would shut him down again and probably scrap the poor robot just to be sure that he would be permanently decommissioned.

"Let's get you out of here." Shadow dropped his hand from the robot and led him out of the base.

* * *

Rouge landed next to her bar and entered through the back door. Her seafoam eyes scanned the place for a familiar red face and was quickly relieved to catch a glimpse of it sitting and chatting with one of her employees at the bar. Good, she seriously needed to vent.

She walked over to Knuckles' side and hugged his huge arm giving him a pouty look.

"Hey gorgeous!" The echidna grinned turning to face her but then suspiciously lifted a brow at her look. "What did you do, Rouge?"

"Let's go in the back." She nodded her head to the "Employees only" room and sighed. She still got a little thrill whenever the echidna was able to read her like a damn book. Sometimes it was nice, but others it was off-putting, had she really gotten that close to the thick-headed guardian?

Knuckles finished his beer and stood up. He placed his large bandaged hand on the small of the albino's back and lead her to the backroom which she also used as an office.

They both entered the room and Rouge slumped down on a grey leather couch pushed against the left wall and placed her hands on her temples, rubbing them vigorously.

"Babe, something happened tonight…"

Knuckles watched her carefully as he sat beside her and put an arm around her shoulders. His amethyst eyes scanned the bat, the claim she just made had him on the edge. What did she exactly mean by that? _Could she_… The echidna clenched his jaw trying to distract his mind from the worst possible assumptions that he could think of.

"What...what happened…?" He cautiously asked staring at her and rubbing her shoulder gently, trying to calm his mind while waiting for her answer.

"I...I just wanted to help…" She quietly said and snuggled up into his bulky chest her lips turning into a pout once again.

The echidna frowned. That was just as vague as her previous claim. The more she implied, the more paranoid he felt about his dark assumptions.

"Rouge...Spit it out." He growled his eyebrows furrowing. Knuckles was not a patient person. Yes, he was working on that aspect of himself and he was actually pretty proud of himself that he hadn't snapped yet and accused the bat of cheating on him.

"I wanted to help Shadow get with Amy, but that Ultimate doofus yelled at me and went all pissy on me instead of thanking me." The bat rolled her crystal eyes and huffed irately.

The echidna's posture relaxed a bit as his mind calmed down from the overrunning thoughts of Rouge cheating on him. Giving advice on how to deal with angry friends was something he could deal with. He smirked a little, and leaned back on the couch beside her.

"Tell me, what _exactly_ happened?"

Rouge looked up into his eyes and sighed deeply. She knew that Knuckles wasn't going to be the least bit happy about the _way_ she tried to help. But they promised each other to be truthful. So she was going to tell him everything. After a couple minutes of explaining, she closed her eyes, another frustrated sigh escaping her lips.

"So...That's pretty much what happened...And now he's _really_ mad at me. I haven't seen him in such an angsty mood in years. He even left me in the middle of the road!" Rouge crossed her arms, raising her voice at the last part, feeling pissed at the fact that the hedgehog left her in the dust. However the way her boyfriend was now staring at her made her anger disappear and was replaced by a hint of guilt. The albino bit her glossed lower lip staring at the echidna trying to read his expression.

Knuckles was staring down at a spot between his large sneakers, his eyes were thoughtful and almost unreadable.

"Rouge…" He growled and put his hands on his face. His aura had turned dark and she felt like he was shooting silent curses in her direction.

She scooted away from him furrowing her eyebrows. Oh, she could feel the tension in the air about to burst in her face. She knew her boyfriend's temper all too well, and even though he had been working on it and has been pretty chill lately, she could see that she had just pulled the right string.

"Why does everything you do have to involve flirting?!" He suddenly stood up, his voice angry and on the verge of shouting. "Why?!" He turned towards her his expression full of rage, fists clenching and veins popping visibly over his massive biceps.

The bat stared at him, her soft features turned now into a grimace. She'd expected a scolding, but not a full blown scandal.

"It was fake! You know damn well that there's absolutely nothing between Shadow and me!" She stood up and moved right in front of him putting her hands on her waist. Her head was reaching his chest level so it was a bit hard to intimidate him.

"I don't care if it's fake or real, you just had to resort to flirting, didn't you!? You couldn't have helped him in any other way!" He was now throwing his hands around and pointing an accusing finger back at her. "And why the hell are you helping him get with Amy, when she clearly still has feelings for Sonic?!"

"I just wanted to give her a push in the right direction! And that boy, Sonic, is not her right direction! All he's been doing for years and years now is ignoring her and shoving her tiny pink ass in to 50 shades of friendzone!"

His mouth opened, an argument fresh on his lips, but she growled and pointed an accusing finger into his chest, "And I'm so sick and tired of your insecure jealousy! I look at a guy at the bar to get his order, and you freak out! I give a waiter a tip at the restaurant and you freak the fuck out!" Her wings flapped, lifting her body up so she could reach his eye level in an attempt to be more intimidating.

"Sonic is a good guy! Better than Shadow, just a little slow in the emotions department! And what's Shadow? An emo who can't swallow his messed up past. He has every chance to live his life like a normal person, but nooo, he has to be all edgy and bad," He countered, his amethyst eyes blazing with purple fire.

"He'll probably break the poor girl's heart the moment she actually falls for him! But wait… Amy would _never_ fall for him, you know _why_? Cause she still fucking loves Sonic, and she has for the past 10 years!" His rage was now filling to the brim at her callous insults of his best friend and her sticking her nose where it didn't belong. But even more pressing than that was the fury he felt about her blatant disrespect of their relationship.

"AND I'll stop being 'insecure' when you stop acting like a fucking _HOE!_" Knuckles yelled and suddenly punched the wall next to Rouge, his fist going right through it and making large cracks all around the hole.

The bat flinched, stumbling a step back but stood her ground and sneered back at him.

"You fucking pussy! You think punching a wall will make your point!? Why don't you aim at me, huh?!" She screamed at him pushing him roughly back and pointing to herself. To her surprise he actually moved from the contact. She thought it would take much more to break his stoic stance. But she didn't ponder the reason for long, her anger not allowing her to see the fleck of hurt in his eyes.

"C'mon, show me what kind of a man you are! Hit me! I know you fucking want to!"

Knuckles growled at the female in front of him, everything in his body screamed to act on her taunts, his body was shaking, his muscles were pulsing and his teeth were gritting so hard that they could brake. He closed his eyes taking a deep breath silently counting to 10 in his mind trying desperately to cool off. This was his tactic. It had been working for so many years, this was his way of not blowing off like he used to at every little thing.

_5...6...7…_

He counted while the female in front of him continued to spit insults and provoke him.

_8...9...10…_

He finally let out his breath and pulled his fist away from the wall. Pieces of concrete and dust fell from his hand as he unclenched it.

Rouge stared at him with her narrowed cold blue eyes waiting for him to act on her taunts, to finally lay a hand on her like many other lovers had done in the past. Most driven to insanity by her difficulties, some just because, and she never let them stick around much longer after that. But the hit never came.

He moved pass her, bumping his shoulder into hers and walked away.

"Where the _hell_ do you think _you're_ going!?" She turned after him, the gesture pissed her off even more than the insults or fists. Who did he think he was to turn his back on her? She was not done with him.

"To find something that's _actually_ worth my time." He replied coldly without even turning to look at her, as he exited the room and slammed the door behind him.

Rouge stared at the door, her seafoam eyes wide in shock. All rage suddenly left her body and was replaced by something else. Her figure trembled as her eyes started watering to a point where her vision blurred. That had stung. It had stung more than Shadow's demeaning. More than the earlier insult. More than any of her past lovers abusing her. It burned her to her very core. The bat fell onto her knees and grasped her chest desperately in effort to calm the shakes.

However, nothing could comfort her as tears escaped her eyes. Quiet whimpers filled the small room as she pushed herself to lean on the wall. It was official, she was the biggest screw up in all of Mobius. Sure Knuckles had his issues, but he'd _never_ laid a hand on her… and she had pushed him further than any boyfriend in her life - most males breaking under the first curveball thrown their way.

Knuckles was a firecracker on his best day, more willing to throw a punch then talk it out. Heck he'd thrown a punch her way more than once when they'd still been frenemies. However, the moment they'd started sleeping together, and… 'dating' he'd never touched her in anger again.

Her whimpers turned to grunts, which turned to screams muffled by her fangs digging into the palms of her hands. Blood soaked into her white gloves, but she hardly noticed or cared. She'd just let the most kind and enduring male walk right out of her life, and she feared it was forever.

* * *

Amy stared into deep jade pools. It wasn't the first time she'd gotten lost in them. She'd been staring at them for so many years... _yearning_ to see them stare back at her with the same adoration and emotion that she held in her own. And now finally when she received this smoldering, hopeful, full of adoration gaze, she felt... _strange_.

It was such a strange feeling to finally get something that you've fought for, something you've desired for so many years. And finally, when you have almost given up, it's served to you on a silver platter, it was almost… _disappointing._

She was happy, yes but the feeling wasn't as satisfying as she thought it would be. She'd been waiting all these years for a confession that in the end, when it was given without any effort on her part to draw it out, it felt _superficial._

The rosette shook her head violently trying to shake the insane reaction away. What was she thinking, this was _Sonic_ \- her _Sonic_ \- confessing his love to her. That very thought helped bring her out of her ridiculous doubts.

The gesture made the male hedgehog hitch his breath in his throat, as if a huge lump of chilli dog had gotten lodged in there and restricted his breathing. His eyes became wide with a panicked realisation that maybe he was _too late_. She wasn't reacting how he'd imagined, and she was now shaking her head furiously. _Chaos_, this was embarrassing. His whole body screamed '_RUN!', _and now he was fully ready to listen to the instinct.

Just as he was about to stand up and dash away, a small gentle hand gripped his forearm and emerald eyes full of determination, kindness and affection, made the azure hero stay in place. A sweet cheerful smile spread across her muzzle, and her free hand reached up to his cheek, cupping it gently.

"Sonic the Hedgehog… You always have an impeccable sense of timing."

Now the male felt even more confused. His eyes frantically moved from left to right, before settling onto hers, searching for any sign. Was that acceptance, or pitty? Was she rejecting him? Or was she willing to try?

"A-Ames…" His throat felt dry as the Sahara desert and his body was on the verge of exploding from the overwhelming desire to run the hell away from this whole ordeal. Each molecule in him felt like it was shaking and smashing into another, making his body go into overdrive. The girl was literally driving him nuts.

Amy was actually starting to enjoy herself. She had never seen Sonic in this kind of state. A small part of her felt a sadistic pleasure seeing the hedgehog torment himself with panic. However the love she had in her heart for the hero, overwhelmed that desire and she decided to put Sonic at ease.

"Let's do it." She finally spoke up smiling confidently.

Suddenly, Sonic's muzzle turned into a deep shade of crimson and his eyes went wide. She was breathing heavily, and the twinkle in her eye was sending him heated signals… not to mention the fact that they were currently sitting on her bed… and the neck of her shirt was hanging loosely off her shoulder, revealing the strap of a red bra. His favorite color. His whole body suddenly felt hot in comparison to the cold sweat he felt a second ago. Not to mention the sudden heat he felt rushing to his nether regions

"Wh-wha…? Here…? N-Now…?" He started frantically looking around as if someone was watching them about to commit a crime. "Ames, I never knew that you would be so...straightforward…" He gulped grinning awkwardly and sheepishly.

Amy gave him an utterly confused look, her brows furrowing and her head tilting to the side, causing the shirt to shift downwards even further. Sonic gulped.

"I-I always thought that you would like to wait a bit for _that_ part…" He tried to put on a smoldering smirk but it came off into a cringy embarrassed grin.

Sudden realisation hit the female hedgehog.

"OH MY CHAOS!" The girl practically screeched in horror making the male hedgehog fall off of her bed and grip his almost bleeding ears.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PERVERTED HEDGEHOGS!?" She took her pillow and threw it with full blast at the shrunken hedgehog, knocking him a couple of feet back, making him crash into the wall behind him.

_Shit! Shit! SHIT!_

The male hedgehog was now grabbing and rubbing his head. Damn his primal instincts and his male hormones. How could he misunderstand _that_? His head, ears and back now ached. Who knew that a pillow could be so painful? But Sonic guessed that anything in Amy's hands was a potential weapon. Good thing he reacted quickly, otherwise the pissed girl in front of him would've inflicted worse damage to his body. Maybe more than she already inflicted on his mind.

"A-Ames! I'm sorry! So Sorry! I misunderstood the atmosphere! I-I wasn't thinking clearly! I'm not exactly a genius when it comes to these things… I-I mean you'd be my first!" He put up his gloved hands in front of his face and squinted his eyes, ready to receive another blow from some other object laying around the fuming female.

Amy was now standing on her bed glaring at the blue hedgehog, her dark, furious aura, could practically make any plant placed within a foot away to contract itself and turn back into a seed. Her quills had aggressively bristled making them spike up like a fan around her head.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, running a hand back through her quills to smooth them out. Once her mind was clear from the anger, she actually found the situation quite humorous. Sonic the hedgehog was cowering away into a corner, ready to take the next blow so she could cool down. And he wasn't running away.

Amy knew fully well that he could easily dodge almost anything she threw at him, yet he chose to accept the consequences of his dirty mind. It was actually kinda sweet. Besides, his little unconscious admission of his inexperience really helped to squash any further doubts about her decision. She had always thought the chicks she'd seen him with in the past had shared his bed, and she'd be lying if that thought hadn't caused her to dislike the idea of dating him and becoming one of his notches. To know he was a virgin just like she was, was somehow both attractive and comforting.

Amy smiled cheerfully and hopped out of her bed to crouch next to the speedster. This caused the male hedgehog's fur to prick up in expectancy for an even worse blow from the female herself, but after a minute of anticipation, he sheepishly opened an eye, his face still turned away to the side. He looked at the girl and sighed in relief ever so softly.

"Sorry…" He mumbled again and cleared his throat repositioning himself into a 'not-so-cowardly' position. Then after a moment's hesitation, he looked up at her shyly and held out his arms.

Amy giggled at the sight and threw herself into his embrace. Sonic tensed up for a moment but this time he regained his composure quicker, as he slid his arms around her waist and pulled her in to his chest to snuggle up. She was kneeling between his legs, her head leaned on to his toned chest with her arms wrapped around his neck. His eyelids dropped into a half closed position and a small tender smile spread across his face. His hand gently started caressing her back as both hedgehogs melted in the warmth of their embrace. Neither one recalling a time that they'd been happier then this very moment.


	6. Episode 6: I'm only a fool for you

**Heyyy guys! Guess who's back from the dead...LOL Sorry for my year long absence. I know, no need to give out excuses, I'm back now. To clear something up: This story was not abandoned nor do I intend to abandon it. I will do my best to finish it, and also to upload as regularly as used to. I'm currently writing the next chapter and hopefully will release it within a week. **

**I have no idea if I still have readers for this story but for those of you who have waited patiently for a whole year, thank you! Promise to make it up to you guys!**

**Now let's get down to business! **

* * *

**Episode 6: I'm only a fool for you**

A large luxurious mansion stood on the crest of a hill overlooking the sea. It's features were dimmed and dark in the early morning, but the darkness did nothing to tarnish the gorgeous modern Victorian details in the frame. In a flash of blue light, two figures appeared at the end of the driveway leading up to the extravagant building. The bulkier and sharper looking figure shuddered and a beam of green light emanated it moving across the frame of the house.

"Scanning complete. Destination: Rouge the Bat's home. Calculating chance of encounter…"

Shadow ignored Omega's processing and walked up to the door banging on it loudly. He heard incoherent rambling and cursing from the inside and after a moment it was swung open.

The ebony hedgehog hadn't expected to be greeted by the sight before him. The bat was wearing baggy sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt that had mysterious stains and rips on it. Her short hair was pulled up in a messy tiny top bun with a lot of pieces sticking out from it and the lower part of her neck. Her make up was a mess. Her usually perfect sharp eyeliner was smudged all over her eyes along with her blue eyeshadow and mascara, which was stained in a drip motion on her cheeks. Her lipstick looked smudged and it was missing on the inner part of her lips.

"What the hell do _you_ want, edgelord?!"

Shadow's fur prickled up from the sight of the albino and a tiny part of him suddenly felt a hint of guilt that this state may have been caused by him. In all the years that he'd had to co-live with her, he'd never seen her in such bad shape. Usually Rouge was very high maintenance when it came to her appearance. Shadow shuddered at the memory of the bat always hogging the bathroom in the morning, and the amount of hours she spent in there to get ready would drive him to the brink of insanity. She always had a polished look and so the haggered bat that leaned on the door jam before him looked like a stranger.

Shadow shook his head quickly and pushed her aside letting himself in. Rouge felt a growl build within her throat as she looked after the rude and intrusive hedgehog, and she was about to let loose on him about manners and social etiquette, when she was stopped in her large robot followed closely behind his male companion and hardly spared her a glance as he walked past.

"Omega?"

Rouge's eyes widened and she closed the door behind them. She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen their old friend and quite frankly the sight of the robot made her day. She laughed cheerfully and flew straight to the robot hugging him tightly.

"Did Shadow activate you?!"

The robot stumbled backwards and rotated his head towards the sultry thief clinging to his large metal frame. A greenish grid emitted from his head, and travelled up and down Rouge, and she stared up at him in slight confusion.

"Scan Complete. Identifying: Rouge the Bat. Last known affinity to Omega: Fellow member of Team Dark. Calculating...Not a threat." The robot's gears finally processed his environment and he was able to concentrate on the bat's question.

"Omega has been active for 2 weeks, 34 hours and 56 seconds. Shadow the hedgehog did not activate Omega. Last known memories are corrupt. Unable to process how Omega was reactivated."

His optics shifted around following Rouge's movement as she let him go and landed slowly on the ground. She tilted her head as she studied him, he didn't look polished or maintained like he would've been had he just come from G.U.N. headquarters. It was also odd that he was acting so… well _robotic._ They had managed to teach him to have a personality of his own before he'd been shut down.

"Where did you find him?" Rouge asked and turned to the dark hedgehog who was leaning on the wall beside them with his arms crossed.

"At one of Eggman's decommissioned bases near Metropolis."

Rouge's eyes furrowed. This caused a spike of worry to enter her as she was sure that G.U.N. either had some perverted reason for activating him, or they didn't know it had happened. And if the second was the case - which was the most likely scenario as they would have informed her of his reboot - then they'd most likely be quite unhappy to find him revived. Images of the technology department's scrap yard filled her mind and she gulped.

"What are we going to do with him? He can't work for G.U.N. anymore, if they find out that he's -"

"I know, that's why I brought him here."

"Oh, so G.U.N. could target me?!"

"You owe me one, for that little stunt you pulled with Amy!" Shadow stood straight and pointed towards her with a gloved finger.

Rouge narrowed her eyes and slapped his hand away.

"I don't owe you shit! Because of _you_, my relationship is done!"

The ebony hedgehog lifted his eyebrows in dark amusement and crossed his arms again.

"Oh? Because of _me_? Last time a checked, I didn't ask for _your_ fucking 'help' and I even told you not to interfere with my personal life!" The male sneered at her and rolled his eyes.

The bat glared at him but she knew he was right. If she wasn't so nosy in the first place none of this would have happened.

"Fine, he can stay for a week here, but then he'll stay with you."

"I'm not negotiating with you, witch. I'm telling you that he's staying here. And that's final." Shadow growled lowly at her, but as intimidating it was, the bat was used to his pissy moods and it took much more than a simple bark to scare her.

"Plus, you've got plenty of room here, my apartment is too small for him."

The robot watched both Mobians argue back and forth for several minutes but with that comment he decided to cut in.

"Affirmative. Shadow the Hedgehog's suggestion is logical. Omega needs more room and a good power supply to recharge. Therefore Omega will stay at Rouge the Bat's premissis."

Rouge watched the robot with her mouth agape and her brows furrowed while Shadow smirked smugly. He'd missed this, the comradery of Omega, especially when it came to ganging up on the bat. He loved to see that spiteful yet reluctantly relented expression on her face.

Rouge closed her mouth and glared at both males. She was defeated, and it made her blood boil when she caught the smug expression on Shadow's face.

"Fine."

* * *

"You guys are… _together_…?"

The shocked statement came from the two tailed genius that stood amongst his friends on the set for Sonic Boom. Tails couldn't wrap his head around what was happening, his eyes wide and mouth agape to match. He hadn't expected that _this _was what the ex-hero had intended to reveal when he'd called everyone to meet up that afternoon. It was a rare day off since something had gone wrong with the set equipment, and he wasn't too keen on spending it at his place of work. He looked over to his red echidna friend to see if he had a similar reaction to the situation.

Knuckles met his gaze with a shrug. His mind was still too occupied with the night before, or rather the fight he'd had with Rouge. He was unknowingly in the same boat as Tails. He'd tried to get out of meeting up, but Sonic had insisted with such enthusiasm that he'd relented. Which he was definitely regretting at the moment. How could he even begin to be happy for his friends when his own love life was in jeopardy?

"Yup, me and Ames, are together." The blue hedgehog repeated, a goofy grin spreading across his features as he wrapped an arm around the rosette's shoulders who stood next to him. Amy smiled brightly and bit her lower lip, a gush of excitement and butterflies filled her stomach. Hearing Sonic say those words made her heart skip a beat, nonetheless hearing him so proudly announce it to their friends.

"Together...as in..._together_?" Knuckles insisted and cocked an eyebrow giving Sonic a distrustful look while crossing his arms.

He already knew the answer, but the question was asked as a way to cover his growing, and misplaced, frustrations at the two hedgehogs before him. An irrational part of him tried to place the blame of his issues on them. Afterall, this all started because of Rouge's attempts to set the pink female up.

"Together, as in we are a _couple_," Sonic said in a slower voice to make his point clearer. Yet his two friends still stared at them with mild reactions to what he viewed as an amazing achievement. He frowned slightly and his eyes narrowed.

"Chaos, what's up with you guys? I thought that you would be celebrating by now." The azure hero lifted an eyebrow of his own jade eyes skimming between his pals.

The two males glanced at each other, and Knuckles gave the fox a playful smirk.

"I think they're not joking…" The red echidna half-mouthed to Tails next to him. The fox nodded, a smirk of his own starting to take light on his muzzle as he picked up the teasing tone in the echidna's voice.

"No, we're not joking, jeez!" Amy sighed, slapping her hand on her forehead and shaking her head. Was it so hard to believe that she and Sonic were finally a couple?

Suddenly Knuckles hysterics and started nudging the young kitsune. Tails muttered an 'ow' and stared at the guardian as if he was crazy, this no longer seemed like mild teasing. Knuckles knew his reaction was off putting, but honestly he didn't know how to act. And he couldn't even begin to explain himself to his friends since his relationship with Rouge was a secret… at least if he _was_ still dating her...

"O...kay...Definitely not the reaction I was expecting…" Sonic furrowed his eyebrows and dropped his arm off Amy's shoulder. The female made a small pout from the lack of touch, but didn't voice her complaint.

"FINALLY!" Knuckles yelled holding his stomach in between hysterical laughs, still hung up on the absurdity of the worked as a wicked mistress, and all he could do was laugh.. It was better than screaming.

Tails stared at his friend but decided that the echidna was just laughing at the fact that Sonic finally had the balls to confess to Amy. The thought actually brought a smile to the fox which led to a chuckle, and then to full blown laughing. The young kitsune had a very vivid imagination. Sonic and Amy exchanged looks but both hedgehogs just sighed. It wasn't the reaction they expected, but who could blame their friends? This was years overdue, and even Amy herself had a hard time grasping the thought that this was actually real.

After a solid 5 minutes of laughing Knuckles calmed down wiping a tear out of his eye with the back of his bandaged hand and took a breath.

"Okay, this officially calls for a celebration at Meh Burger!" The echidna grinned and walked over to both hedgehogs, wrapping his big arms around their shoulders, careful not to get stabbed by their spiky quills.

"Oh! I could definitely go for a Meh Burger right now!" Sonic grinned and looked over to Amy. He knew that it wasn't her favorite place, and this made his grin drop into an uncomfortable smile. "Uh, you up for that, Ames?"

Amy blinked a couple of times. She was definitely not used to Sonic being this considerate. All three of the boys stared at her in anticipation, at which she cracked a smile and rubbed the back of her quills.

"Sure, let's go!"

* * *

Sonic gave Amy his trademark charming boyish grin while speeding off in his car. Amy giggled and watched the passing scenery.

The sleek car drove along the Emerald Beach coastline, multiple colors ranging from oranges to magenta, to purples and dark blues merged into the sky. The rosette was mesmerized by the sight of the setting sun above the peaceful water.

"Oh Sonic...It's so beautiful." She bit her lower lip and fiddled with the hem of her shorts.

Sonic had told her to wear something casual but kept their date's destination a surprise. So, she had decided to wear a pair of distressed high waisted denim shorts, with a cut out for her tail, a white simple crop top that was paired with a sheer white cardigan with red floral accents, that reached just where her shorts ended. To complete the outfit, she wore classic white Adidas sneakers that matched her white gloves and had her quills tied up into a loose high ponytail, leaving two pieces in front to frame her face.

Sonic on the other hand was wearing his trademark brown scarf and paired it with a light blue slightly distressed jacket, he had finished his look with his snazzy red Sonic Adventure 2 sneakers. Of course, he had kept the white bandages on top of his gloves because he liked the way it looked.

The male hedgehog glanced at the rosette from the corner of his eye and smiled smoothly. He ran his hand from the gear shift onto hers, which was resting on her thigh. This made the pink hedgehog snap out of her gaze and turn to look at him. He turned his eyes back to the road and kept his charming smile on while gently intertwining his fingers with hers. Amy gazed down to their interlocked hands as a light blush formed on her muzzle and a shy smile played on her lips.

The gesture made her feel like a lovesick preteen again. It wasn't invasive, it was sweet, and she'd dreamt about things like this ever since she was 12. He was making her feel all giddy again from the smallest touch. But this time she knew that it was intentional and it wasn't just a friendly gesture. The feeling wasn't as intense as it had been in the past, but it was enough to make her heart beat frantically and her mouth twitched into a smile.

"We've arrived."

Sonic grinned, stopping the car and turning towards her. Amy blinked a couple of times, and smiled back at her boyfriend.

"Should I close my eyes?"

"I have a better idea." The azure hero smirked at her as he took off his scarf and gently wrapped it over her eyes.

"Oh!" Amy giggled and grinned widely. "I love surprises!" Her nose twitched slightly getting a whiff of the fresh citrus scent of the scarf. _His_ scent.

"I know you do, Ames." He chuckled and got out of the car and helped her get out too. He held her by her hand and her waist and gently guided her ahead.

"Alright, we're here." He grinned again and took off the scarf.

She blinked again to adjust her vision and gasped.

"Sonic…"

Amy was absolutely mesmerized. They were standing on the bottom of a tall waterfall that was situated on a hill. Beneath the hill stood the city, its lights just turning on while the sun was slowly setting.

"I thought that this is the best place to watch the sunset but we kind of missed it." Sonic grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head.

"It's perfect." She smiled cheerfully and cuddled up to him to watch the final moments of the sunset. "Why didn't you tell me to wear a swimsuit, so we could go for a swim here?" The rosette giggled and looked up at the azure hero.

"O-oh...You know I can't swim, Ames." The male hedgehog gulped and pulled on his scarf, feeling uncomfortable only from the thought of swimming.

"You still haven't learned?" She exclaimed, lifting both eyebrows in surprise.

"No…" He shifted his gaze aside awkwardly and quickly tried to change the subject. "Let's just enjoy the view."

Amy stared at him for a bit but decided to drop it. Both hedgehogs sat down on the grassy ground and watched the gorgeous scenery. Sonic glanced at the rosette and pulled her in to lean on his chest, while running his hand on her shoulder in a caressing motion. Amy smiled softly, and cuddled into the crook of his arm, enjoying the comfort of his hold while watching the day melt into night.

The hedgehogs enjoyed the view for an hour before deciding to head back. When they got back to her apartment, she was surprised when Sonic turned the vehicle off and got out to walk her to her door. He'd usually just stay in the car and drive off once she entered her home. _I suppose it's different now… _she thought cheerily.

"So…" He put his hand on the door beside her leaning onto it and smirked gazing at her with lowered eyelids. "Did you… have fun?"

Amy giggled and stared up at the handsome hero while her back rested on the door.

"I loved it, it was so romantic and so different from what we usually do."

He gazed at her what seemed forever trapped in her emerald eyes. His own jade ones unconsciously travelled down to her lips, and that desire that burned in his chest the night he confessed, returned with full force. He took her hand and leaned in slowly, until only mere inches of thin air were between their lips.

Amy stared back at him, a small blush forming on her cheeks, her mind going absolutely crazy at the thought that she was about to have her first kiss, but before she could overthink it, she stood on her tip toes and closed the remaining distance.

The kiss was tender, full of emotion. Sonic let go of her hand and cupped her cheek. He kissed her and the world fell away. It was slow and soft, comforting in ways that words would never be. His hand rested below her ear, his thumb caressing her cheek as their breaths mingled. He pulled her closer until there was no space left between them and she could feel the beating of his heart against her chest.

A moment later, both of them parted, each taking the breath they so desperately held as jade stared into emerald.

Sonic smiled contently. He enjoyed the kiss with all his being, but a huge part of him felt pride. Pride that he was the first to claim her lips, and relief that there was now no doubt who Amy had affection for. His previous panic of Shadow and Amy's closeness disappearing rapidly.

He brushed her cheek with his thumb and pulled away.

"I'll catch ya later." He winked at her while taking a couple of steps back before speeding off.

* * *

Shadow sighed, unlocking his apartment. He took off his leather jacket walking over to his couch and slumped onto it. He reached for the remote and soon after turned on the TV to channel surf. Suddenly the hedgehog felt something poking his head. He growled and left the remote on the couch and reached into his quills. He was in dire need of a shower, he had dust and dirt all over his fur and spines. Finally, he grasped onto the troublesome object and pulled it out.

"Tch…" He stared at the half smashed bullet shell and put it on the table. His ruby eyes glanced up onto the huge flat TV screen, and the channel he had randomly fell on after being distracted.

"And now, for the juiciest story of today, reliable sources have confirmed that," Shadow rolled his eyes, it was that stupid tabloid news channel that Rougewas absolutely obsessed with. _Dumbass people over concerned with the lives of other people. Pathetic._

He took hold of the remote to change the channel but something stopped him dead in his tracks. A picture of a certain pink hedgehog being embraced by a certain faker, was frozen like a horror portrait on his screen. He lifted an eyebrow and grimaced while turning the volume up.

"The actors of Sonic Boom, and Mobius' ex heroes, Sonic T. Hedgehog and Amy Rose, are officially _an item,_" a hyped voice narrated happily, confirming the feeling of dread within him.

"Sources that work on set alongside with the famous hedgehogs, have confirmed that Sonic proudly showed off his girlfriend in front of his friends, and they were later spotted leaving from Meh Burger in Sonic's luxurious sports car." A female bandicoot pointed towards the screen next to her as the picture changed into a paparazzi picture of Sonic and Amy getting into Sonic's car.

His grip on the remote tightened suddenly, his gloved hand began shaking. The plastic in his grasp started making crunching noises, and in mere seconds it got completely crushed in his grasp. The hedgehog got up, both fists curled, crimson eyes glowing darker. Deadly sparking red energy started forming around his tart black fur, making every object around him tremble as if there was an earthquake.

"Chaos Control!" He growled loudly and disappeared in a flash of blue light.

* * *

Amy bit her lower lip and smiled while keeping her gaze glued onto her leaving boyfriend while she was unlocking the door. She stared after him a couple of moments more until she entered her apartment.

It was dark and unusually cold. The hedgehog shuddered. An eerie feeling suddenly twisted her stomach as if something was really wrong. She reached for the light switch, her hand gently touching the wall to find it, and when she did, she pushed it to light up the room.

Once the light hit her she saw a dark figure standing right infront of her, blood red piercing eyes staring right into her soul. She screamed in terror, emerald eyes wide in shock.

"Stop screaming."

His voice was deeper and huskier than usual and his tone had a hint of a threatening growl.

"What the hell, Shadow?!" Amy tried to push him away but he stood firmly in front of her, face inches away from hers. This caused her to back up into the wall behind her.

"I was asking myself the same thing." Shadow scorned, exposing his sharp canines, his crimson eyes staring intensely at her emerald ones. He placed his hands on the wall near her head, pinning her in place.

"Wh-what's wrong with you?!" The rosette stuttered her ears folding back into a submissive manner.

"So you didn't have the guts to tell me on your own, eh Rose?" He growled lowly and stepped even further, leaving her with almost no space.

"Wh-what are you talking about?" She stuttered even more, Shadow could hear her heartbeat, it was beating so fast that it could practically rip out of her chest. He could see it in her eyes. Guilt, and a little bit of fear. '_Good…'_

"You act all brave and honest, yet here you are hiding the truth from me."

"I...I…" Amy shut her eyes tightly desperately trying to calm herself down. Shadow was about to give her a full blown panic attack if she didn't retain herself. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly regaining a bit of composure. "I don't know what you're talking about… Shadow, you're scaring me…" She opened her eyes and looked up at him, but instead of understanding and regret, she was welcomed with the same intense stern look, and his body hadn't budged.

His brows furrowed and his jaw clenched.

"The whole world knows about you and the faker, and your so-called "close friend" has to find out from a gossip channel." His growl sounded more animalistic and dangerous than she had ever heard him, and it made any kind of composure and self-assurance within her, disappear. At that moment, her tail was literally between her legs.

"Sh-shadow…" She gulped and looked away. "I didn't mean to...It's just...I was so busy the last two days…"

"Busy with _him_?" He practically hissed out.

The dark aura his body was emitting was making Amy shudder. She had never seen Shadow this angry. And his anger was rarely directed at her. It was terrifying and made her feel disgusting and small, like an ant he could easily crush beneath his foot. Her stomach was twisting and turning, she could barely breath from the huge lump that was stuck in her throat, and not to mention that her heart was ready to burst out of her rib cage. He made her feel guilty. But why should she…? He was acting as if he had caught her red handed and _cheating_ on him.

'_Oh if you think that you can manipulate me like that you've got another thing coming…'_

Her body stopped shaking and she swallowed hard. Her hands curled into fists and her emerald eyes narrowed.

"Yes, with him, with my _boyfriend_, what the hell is your problem?!" She pushed him roughly away, making him stumble a step back.

"_You're_ my problem, Amelia!" Shadow yelled and grabbed her arms. "You! You drive me fucking crazy!" He pushed his forehead onto hers while tightening his grip onto her arms.

Amy stared at him with wide eyes, her lips slightly parted. The shock and adrenaline that overtook her made her ignore the pain that she felt in her arms from his tight grip.

"Shadow…" Her voice came out as a cracked whisper. Her body was stiffened into place while her mind tried to process what he had just told her.

Shadow closed his eyes and loosened his grip on her arms and allowed his hands to travel up to her shoulders, then to her neck until he reached it's nape and ran his fingers in between her quills.

The tender movement and touch made her fur prickle up. This didn't feel staged nor teasing. It felt genuine, deep and she quickly found out that his touch made her calm down. How could someone scare the hell out of her and yet a minute later can soothe her with his mere touch?

"That fool always has to be first…" Shadow half lid opened his eyes, gazing into Amy's with a look full of resentment and regret. "But he'll never be the first at one thing."

The rosette stared at him with confusion.

"What do you mean?"

He let go of her head and parted from her.

"Shadow…?"

The male hedgehog turned away and smirked to himself.

"Shadow, tell me!"

He turned ever so slightly and glanced at her from the side of his eye, with the same self assured smirk on his face as he disappeared into a flash of blue light.

* * *

Shadow sat on the edge of the roof on top of his apartment building gazing at the starry night sky. His crimson eyes glowed dark and his eyebrows furrowed down.

Things were going so well during these past couple of months. The female hedgehog had been slowly giving in to his grasp and he managed to fuck it all up so hard overnight. She just slipped through his fingers and fell into that faker's grasp.

The brooding hedgehog sneered at the thought and clenched his fists.

And that faker… He'd never done anything to win the girl. He made absolutely no effort towards her and yet she praised him like a god… He constantly took her for granted, never acknowledged the intensity of her feelings, the way he hurt her, the way he made her sacrifice her own feelings for the sake of his indecisive comfort.

"That fool!" The hedgehog suddenly snapped and threw his fist to the wall next to him making pieces of its edge to crumble and particles of dust to emit from the fracture.

Shadow stood up his hands shaking from the dark burning emotion that devoured his insides. The only familiar emotion that the hedgehog knew all too well during his life spurr. Rage, hatred, disgust.

What did that pathetic copy do to earn her affection? Why wasn't he good enough for her to even consider him as a partner?

Sonic was the hero. He always saved the day, he always made the best choices. Never left anyone behind. He was the brave hearted hero.

Shadow on the other hand was nowhere near heroic. He had plenty of heroic contributions to a good amount of Sonic's missions. But the things he had done to become the villain in everyone's eyes, outweighed the good. Yes, he had done plenty of things in the past that he wasn't proud of. He didn't regret them. This was all part of him. He would never try to ignore his darkness. This was his identity. He wasn't all good, but he wasn't all bad either. That was just all of him. He was the necessary evil. The black hearted hero.

He knew all too well that Amy fell for Sonic because of his heroism. She had shared that in one of their late night conversations. Yet she was drawn to Shadow's darkness. She wasn't afraid of it. She'd even often dance with it. He knew the girl wasn't indifferent to him. Hell, he'd been pretty sure that she might feel something more than friendship towards him, but he wasn't so sure about that anymore…

Shadow leaned onto the wall, slumping his head back roughly at the concrete making a loud thud. He ignored the pulsing pain that came from the back of his head as he ran it over his whole face. He glared down at particularly nothing.

He'd wait for her… No matter how much time it took. He had time. A whole eternity to be exact. He knew she wasn't shallow or stupid. She'd see who the better hedgehog was, and he'd be there, ready to embrace her when it happened. His back pressed itself harder onto the wall as his whole body slumped on the floor in a crouching position.

He just had to be patient.


End file.
